Second Chances
by xxTrinityxx
Summary: The Sanctuary team find Ashley after what the Cabal have done to her. Only that she is a seven-year-old girl with no memory of the past. The only thing that can come of this situation: pure chaos. Post Eulogy. No real pairings yet.
1. Prologue

**Second Chances**

**Summary: The Sanctuary team find Ashley after what the Cabal have done to her. Only that she is a seven-year-old girl with no memory of the past. The only thing that can come of this situation: pure chaos. Post Eulogy. **

**The folder slapped against her desk. Helen jumped up. She hadn't even heard the door open and close. When she saw that it was John, she wiped away her shedding tears. "John, this is a surprise," she said rather quickly. "What is this?"**

"**Read it, Helen." His voice held that same crisp tone that disguised his anger from others, but not her. No, she knew him all too well to know better.**

**She opened the folder and glanced at the paperwork. Her heart stopped. Her throat constricted painfully. Sweat beaded her face. "No," she gasped. She let out a choked sob. "Please John, tell me that they didn't make more!" Her voice was pleading.**

"**The reports say that it's a little girl, hardly a threat really. I can go on my own if that is what you wish. I just thought you should know." He started to turn.**

"**No, John. Tell everyone to come to my office and we'll discuss the best course of action."**

"**We haven't got the time, Helen!" yelled John, making her flinch.**

"**I won't allow you to go by yourself, John!" snapped Helen.**

"**I am not some dog on a leash!" John turned around to face her. His face was blotched with anger.**

"**The last time I let you go on your own, you returned to your old habits, just as I told you you would," replied Helen evenly.**

"**Danna Whitcomb deserved what she got!" roared John. "Along with the rest of that Cabal filth!"**

"**Did you not think that maybe for one second that I wanted you with me?" The tears continued their trail down Helen's cheeks.**

**John held back his urge to verbally strike at Helen. "Really now," he taunted. "You seem to be **_**wanting**_** me around now more and more these days. Is there something that you're not telling me? Hmm?"**

**This struck Helen worse than any yelling ever could. Her heart skipped a beat. Still, after all these years, Jack the Ripper had that effect on her. She glared at him like a defiant child. "John, please, for my sake bring everyone here," she pleaded with forced patience.**

"**For you then," murmured John. He exited her office before another word could be exchanged.**

**She only had to wait a few minutes for everyone to assemble in her office. They all possessed the same inquisitive expressions, apart from John.**

"**I am certain that you are all wondering why I brought you here," she began. "You are here because John has picked up on some leads of another super abnormal."**

**Henry was the first to speak, "But Doc, that's impossible. They were all obliterated by the EM shield."**

"**And John and I worked quite hard to disband the Cabal," added Tesla.**

"**I am well aware of that Nikola," replied Helen. "I think that it is possible that the Cabal left one behind."**

"**So what's the plan of action?" asked Will.**

"**Nikola, Kate, and Henry, you three will stay here and remain in radio contact. The rest of you are with John and I."**

"**Magnus, if this really is one of those freaky abnormals, you'll need all the help you can get," argued Kate.**

"**You are more help to me here," replied Helen crisply. She turned to Tesla. "Do you still have that weapon that I asked you to build?"**

**He nodded. "And its better than before, now that I've had adequate time to work on it."**

"**It better work this time," John threatened. "That is, if you value your life."**

"**You tried killing me before," snapped Tesla. "Remember, I'm half-vampire. It would take more than the likes of you to kill me." He rolled his eyes.**

"**Oh, I assure you, I will find a way, and when I do-"**

"**John, enough!" Helen interrupted. "Really, this is not the time for your bantering." She glared between the two abnormals.**

**Tesla grinned. "He's just jealous because he had his chance with you and blew it."**

**John grabbed the vampire-hybrid by the collar and slammed him against a bookshelf. Several books crashed to the floor.**

**Everyone in the room looked alarmed. Big Guy bared his teeth. Helen looked positively livid, which frightened everyone more, especially Will. "Do I have to separate you two like children?" she yelled.**

**Big Guy pulled them apart. He slapped each of them across the back of the head. "No fighting," he growled. "We must work together."**

"**Tell that to Jack the Ripper," murmured Tesla.**

"**Nikola, I really insist that you bring me that weapon," said Helen with forced patience.**

"**As you wish, M'lady," replied Tesla. He bounded out of the room.**

"**John, Will, Big Guy, meet me in the main chamber in half and hour," instructed Helen. "That should give you enough time to get ready." She stood and walked out of her office.**

**Tesla found her alone in one of her more vulnerable moments. She never cried in front of anyone. The only time anyone ever caught her like this was when she was unaware of their presence. He cleared his throat, announcing that he was not alone. She quickly wiped away her tears. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.**

"**Just got something in my eye," sniffed Helen. She turned to him, her eyes still red from crying.**

"**The weapon, just as you asked," he said, handing her the gun. "Mind you, I have only been able to test its effectiveness on those fur balls that you keep as pets."**

**Helen's face went hard as she fought the urge to cry some more. "They're called Nubbins, Nikola," she said through clenched teeth.**

"**Ok, jeeze," said Tesla with his hands in the air. "No need to get upset with me. I'm not into this whole saving abnormals thing. I'm only here because I've got no where else to go. Plus, you still need my services."**

"**Nikola, if you don't mind," snapped Helen.**

"**Oh right, you'll be leaving soon." He turned and left.**

**Helen waited for everyone to assemble in the main chamber. She locked eyes with John for a brief moment.**

"**Henry deactivated the EM shield," Big Guy grunted as he came in.**

"**Lets just hope it isn't a trap," said Will.**

**John grabbed Will and Big Guy first and teleported them out of the Sanctuary. He came back a moment later for Helen. They arrived in an open field of corn.**

**Helen glared at her ex. "What is the meaning of this, John?" she demanded.**

"**The last sighting of the abnormal was on this property," explained John rather calmly. "All we have to do now is play a game of hide and seek."**

**He led the way through the field. They didn't have to go far before they heard hound dogs barking off in the distance. They stopped and exchanged glances.**

"**Do you want me to scare them off?" grunted Big Guy.**

"**That won't be necessary," replied Helen.**

"**It isn't far!" yelled a man, who sounded like he was running across a few rows from them.**

"**Follow him!" ordered Helen, "But don't get too close." She ran with her gun ready. The others followed in a tight formation that looked as though it had been practiced dozens of times with John and Will on either side and Big Guy taking the rear.**

**Rows of corn stalk fell as they trampled through the crop. Helen slowed to a walk when she heard a young child crying. She turned to Big Guy. "Lead them away now," she instructed. Before he could disappear, she grabbed him by the arm. "Be careful." With that said, she watched him vanish.**

**With cautious steps, as though there were venomous snakes at her ankles, she stepped forward. What she found stopped time for her.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sanctuary. That work belongs to Damian Kindler, Martin Wood, and Amanda Tapping. **

**A/N: I do plan on finishing this. I have most chapters planned out. **


	2. Ashley

Memories hit her like a ton of bricks. All she saw was moments from Ashley's life, before the Cabal came and took it all away from her. She swayed on her feet. John was instantly there to catch her. For a split second, she saw him as he had been in the late 1880s with his thick, dark hair.

He followed her gaze. Flashes of pictures that he had seen taken of Ashley during her early childhood numbed his mind. His jaw went unusually slack as his body froze.

Will came forward to see what could possibly have this affect on both of them. He blinked at the small child crying before him. She appeared to be about seven with light blonde hair and blue eyes. Other features drew in his attention. She had overly long, vampire-like fangs that prevented her from closing her mouth; and muffled her sobs. There were also the long claws that only Tesla and the super abnormals possessed. "Magnus," he barked.

Helen didn't seem to hear him; that, or she chose to ignore him. All she said, in a relieved low whisper was, "Ashley." Tears of overwhelming joy fell down her cheeks.

The girl heard Helen. Will could see the fear and alarm in her eyes. She launched toward Helen. Will shot a dart from his gun at the girl. She teleported upon being hit to sleep in Helen's lap.

Helen stroked the girl's hair affectionately. She held the child close as both claws and fangs began to retract.

"Magnus, we need to get back to the Sanctuary," said Will urgently. He locked eyes with John and signaled him to take Helen first.

Helen brought the little girl to the infirmary before John went back to retrieve Will. She strapped the girl down in order to keep Henry silent. She took a blood sample and requested that Tesla run the analysis.

John cam in an hour after they found the super abnormal child. "I managed to find and retrieve your hairy friend," he informed. "And Nikola has kindly asked me to tell you that the DNA matches Ashley's. It seems that you were right about our daughter. I just never imagined that we would find her as but a simple little girl."

Helen shook her head. She blinked away the tears. "No, not simple. She's a very special little girl."

"Yes, well, what are we going to do about her abnormal abilities?" inquired John.

"We teach her how to control them, of course." She forced a smile.

"Really? Why don't you ask your friends about that."

Helen shot him a glare. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Talk to them, Helen," urged John.

"Fine, but I want you here in case she wakes up. I will not make the same mistake twice." She walked through her home to her office where she called everyone to her.

Tesla was the first to arrive. He watched Helen as everyone walked in one by one; Will, Big Guy, Kate, and then Henry. They were all silent, waiting for an explanation from Helen.

"I'm sure you're all aware by now that we found Ashley, alive," she began.

"Woah, Magnus, it could be a trap," said Kate bluntly.

"The Cabal are no longer a threat," replied Helen. "Nikola and John assure me of that."

"Despite that being true, I agree with Ms. Freelander," Tesla interjected. "For all we know, what's left of the Cabal might have just slipped underground, waiting for the next opportune moment to strike."

"It would be foolish of the Cabal to use the same tactic twice," argued Helen.

"That is what they want you to think."

"I agree with Tesla, Magnus," said Will. "Since when have the Cabal been rational with anything?"

Helen began to feel like she was being trapped in a corner. She turned to Henry and Big Guy for their support.

"Hey, don't bring me into this." Henry put his arms in the air.

"It could be a side affect from teleporting within the EM shield," suggested Big Guy.

"And if it isn't?" snapped Tesla. "What happens when she does whatever the Cabal sent her to do?"

"Hey, we could be overreacting about this," Will said calmly. "Lets just wait and see what happens before we jump to conclusions."

"This has the Cabal written all over it." Kate crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why are you taking such a negative attitude towards all this?" demanded Helen.

"Because it seems that the freak with the claws and fangs and I are the only ones with our heads on straight," retorted Kate.

"She's my daughter!" yelled Helen furiously. "I will not lose her again!" She got up and stormed out of her office with another set of tears rolling down her cheeks. She stopped at the infirmary where Ashley was sleeping and John sitting, reading a copy of Hamlet.

He glanced up at her. "Did it go as bad as I feared?"

"No one really trusts my judgment," she confessed wearily.

"Ah, to be or not to be," he murmured.

"For that is the question." They quoted various lines of Shakespeare as they watched Ashley sleep.

A/N: I may not have time to update for a couple weeks or so. I might however surprise myself. Ideas are welcome, and preferably sent to my personal e-mail account.


	3. Awakening

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out there. I have been really busy with college, and it is so much better than high school ever was! Please let me know what you think.

Two days later found Helen still sitting next to Ashley. In that time, she hardly ate or slept. Every three hours she would have Big Guy bring her more tea. John came and went. He spent most of his waking hours with her. Will visited occationally, but he was preoccupied with his duties with the abnormals and picking up Helen's slack. Henry came by once or twice to ask Helen about new security protocols.

"Helen, what are yout going to do when she wakes?" asked John.

She felt her throat constrict painfully. "The truth is, I have no idea," she admitted softly.

"What if she's like me?"

"What if she isn't?" replied Helen. She sighed. "There are so many what-ifs to consider. I am chosing to focus on the fact that she survived. She might not be the same Ashley, but I've got a second chance with her, which is more than I deserve."

"Not too long ago, you told me that you two were fine without me," said John. "Tell me Helen, who did you pretend Ashley's father was?"

"Percy Granger," answered Helen.

"And yet I was under the impression that he was what the youth of today call a raging homo," chuckled John.

"I can think of worse sires," Helen replied.

"So she knew while growing up of your longevity," guessed John.

"When she was old enough to understand, I told her."

"What will you tell her of me?" John asked.

"That is for you to decide." She turned to him. "I do want you in her life, John."

"Well, you will have to forgive me for any parenting mistakes I may make."

Silence lapsed between them. After a while, John got up and walked out of the infirmary. Shortly after he left, signs of life were returning to Ashley. Her hands twitched. Her breathing accelerated. Her heartrate increased. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Ashley! Thank God you're awake!" cried Helen. Her eyes were bursting with tears of relief. She pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. "Everything's going to be alright."

Ashley stiffened. She tried to push Helen away. Her claws extended and in the frenzy, she gave her mother several gashes along the arms and shoulders.

Helen gasped in pain. She moved quickly to lock the doors, preventing Will and John from getting in. "Ashley please, don't you remember me?" Her daughter just stared at her. "Its me, Ashley. Its Mummy."

"Magnus!" shouted Will from the other side of the glass.

"Helen, let us in!" commanded John.

"You're home, Ashley," Helen continued. "In the Sanctuary. Don't you remember anything?"

Ashley stared at her claws. Her expression was nothing less than horrified. "You were trying to hurt me," she choked.

Helen felt her heart breaking at Ashley's words. "No," she murmured, shaking her head. "No Ashley, I was trying to protect you from those bad men. You're safe now. And as far as those claws, with time you can learn to control them. So, what do you say?" She slowly extended her hand.

Ashley looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. She slowly took Helen's hand. Her claws slowly retracted.

A small smile crossed Helen's lips. "It seems that you already have some control." She pulled her daughter into a hug. _I'll do things right this time_, she pledged to herself. "Shall we go meet everyone?"

Ashley reached up and touched the gashes that she left. She frowned. "I'm sorry Mommy," she sobbed, burrying her face into Helen's thighs.

Helen was taken aback for a moment. She almost lost her balance. She patted Ashley's hair affectionately. "You remember me?"

"A little," Ashley squeeked. "What happened to me?"

"Its nothing to worry about," murmured Helen. She lifted Ashley up, careful not to agitate the scratches. They were already starting to heal anyway. She opened the door.

"Helen, what were you thinking?" John sounded pained.

"She didn't mean any harm, John," snapped Helen. "She was just frightened, and she had every right to be." She shifted Ashley's weight. "Ashley, this man is your father."

Ashley peeked out at John. She then spotted Will. "Mommy, who's he?" she asked, pointing at him.

"That's Will, sweety. He works with Mummy."

"Mummy?" laughed Will. "Do you want me to get you the toilet paper so that you can be all wrapped up?"

If it hadn't made Ashley start giggling, Helen would have had him knocked to the ground in two seconds flat, while still holding Ashley. As it was, she glared at him. Ashley squirmed and Helen put her down. Her daughter walked up to Will.

"Could you?" she asked innocently.

Will stammered. "Well, I-I was only poking some fun at your _Mummy_." He snorted.

"And now you are going to round everyone up to my office," said Helen.

He nodded and laughed as he walked away.

"Men these days," Helen grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, he certainly does have a way with words," said John. "Perhaps that is something he learned from you."

"No, that's a trait that he had long before meeting me for the second time," corrected Helen. She reached for Ashley's hand. "Ashley, do you remember what Mummy does for work?"

Ashley looked up at her. "You capture monsters."

Helen nodded. "But some of them are safe, do you remember?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Mommy," she murmured.

Helen knelt down to Ashley's level. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for." She blinked away the tears.

"Mommy, why are you sad?" asked Ashley.

"Its nothing. Mummy is just fine." She forced a smile as she caressed Ashley's cheek. "Now come along. I want you to meet everyone." She held her daughter's hand as they both walked through the halls. John tagged along behind them.

"Mommy, you told me that Daddy was lost in heaven," squeeked Ashley, taking both Helen and John by surprise. Her parents both froze.

"I just found my way back," explained John. He knelt beside Ashley.

Ashley pulled herself away from her mother and went to embrace John. "I'm happy you're back," she whispered. "Maybe now Mommy won't look so sad all the time."

John forced a smile. "She looks happier already." He glanced up at Helen as he squeezed Ashley in his arms. He lifted her up and carried her to Helen's office. She wrapped her arms tightly around her father's neck. She burried her face in his shoulder as they walked into Helen's office.

Helen stroked Ashley's hair tenderly. She avoided eye contact with John. She feared that if she looked at him now, she would see _her_ John. She she waited quietly for everyone to assemble in her office. They all filed in: Will, Tesla, Kate, Henry, and Big Guy. None of them looked too pleased about the situation, except for Will, and Henry just looked nuetral.

"That is one violent package you're letting Druitt handle, Helen," stated Tesla.

"Afraid Nikola?" taunted John. He grinned in a very hungered manner.

"Really you two?" Kate frowned. "In front of a _child_?"

"I agree," snapped Helen.

Ashley whimpered. She was staring with wide eyes at Big Guy. She clung tightly to John. She cringed when she heard her mother's anger. "He's so scary looking," she whispered.

John's grip tightened around Ashley protectively. He twisted so that he could be between her and Big Guy.

"John." Helen looked him in the eye. In that brief contact, he knew to set Ashley down. He had to gently remove her arms before standing back up.

She ran to hide behind Helen. Her tiny heart was racing. She could feel her mouth getting harder and harder to close. Everyone was staring at her with frightful expressions. The tears were impossible for her to stop. She looked down at her hands. The claws had already extended.

"Everyone, OUT!" ordered Helen.

Kate and Henry were the first to leave. Tesla followed after them with Will close at his heels. Big Guy grunted as he left. John shared a single look with Helen before walking out.

Helen fell to her knees. She searched Ashley's face before pulling her beloved daughter into a tight embrace. She winced with Ashley got her arms with the claws. "Ashley, please," she whimpered softly.

Ashley squeezed her eyes shut. "Mommy." Her claws and fangs began to retract. She fell into Helen's lap and began crying.

"Its ok, Ashley," Helen swore. Instict told her to check on her wounds. They were deep, and she was losing a lot of blood. "Ashley, Mummy needs to leave you with Will for a while. You like Will, right?"

Ashley nodded mutely. She fell into Helen's lap.

Helen took out her cell phone and dialed Will's number. He picked up after three rings. "Will." She supressed the pain from her voice the best she could.

"Magnus, are you alright?" He sounded worried.

"I'm fine," answered Helen. "I need you to watch over Ashley for a couple hours."

"Alright. I'll be there in five." He hung up.

Helen looked down at Ashley. She was grateful for this second chance with her daughter. But there was that bitterness toward the Cabal for what they turned her into. Ashley's second chance would be incomplete and dangerous.

Just as he promised, Will was there in five minutes. He rushed to Helen's side. "Magnus, what happened?" he demanded.

Ashley's eyes snapped open, but they were dark amber instead of blue. Her fangs and claws were already fully extended. Helen winced when her claws cut her legs. She gasped in pain. The small child turned on Will and slashed his chest in a frenzy. She managed to cut him deep.

"Will!" cried Helen. She got up and grappled Ashley until she returned to normal.

"Will?" Ashley squeeked, horrified with what she had done. Tears trailed down her cheeks.

"I'm fine," groaned Will. "Magnus?"

Helen's vision blurred. She heard an annoying ringing in her ears before passing out on the floor.

"Magnus!" Will rushed passed Ashley to get to Helen. She had lost a lot of blood, and so had he.

Ashley looked down at Helen, absolutely terrified. "Mommy? Mommy?! Mommy! Will, what happened to Mommy?"

"She'll be ok." He hoped that he was right, for Ashley's sake.

The door opened. John ran in. He must have heard the commotion. He immediately lifted Helen up and ran out with her. Ashley chased after him.

Will fell to his knees. His breathing was growing heavy and his vision was blurring in and out of focus. He fell into the darkness, knowing that the Ashley that he had known was gone forever and replaced with some ghost.


	4. Innocence

He woke in a hospitol-style bed. The lights were dim. He blinked and saw Ashley sitting next to him. A dream perhaps? No, if this was a dream, Ashley would be much older and teasing him. He frowned. Why was he thinking that? He was too old for her. And both Helen and John would murder him and hide the body; after doing some very horrible things to him.

"Will! You're awake!" Ashley jumped and flung her arms around his neck.

"Ungh!" Will groaned. The pain burned across his chest. He struggled for a moment to remember what happened. Ashley had attacked him; not his Ashley, the Cabal's Ashley. Also, Helen had feinted shortly after. "Ashley, what about your Mom?"

"She's talking with Daddy," murmured Ashley. She crawled into the bed with Will and burried her face into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Will."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I've had worse." He kissed her softly on the forehead. She wasn't his Ashley, but she was able to bring back his Helen.

---

"Helen, it could have been worse."

"I know, John!" snapped Helen. She had been listening to his lecturing since she woke up two hours ago. She knew that Ashley could have killed her, and she would have allowed it. She wouldn't be able to blame Ashley either. Not for the mistakes that she had made.

"Helen, I don't want to lose you." John began pacing the private room. He stopped briefly to look at her. "Perhaps you were wrong about Ashley."

"Surely you don't believe that!" Her heart quenched at his words.

"Don't I?" roared John. "Look at what she's done to you! To your collegue, Mr. Zimmerman! She could have killed you both!"

"I am fully aware of that fact, John!" She winced.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt." His voice grew quiet.

"And you would know all about that, now wouldn't you?" snapped Helen angrilly. She narrowed her eyes at him.

The door opened and Tesla stepped in, wearing a lab coat and holding a vialed drug. He grinned at them. "Look at you two, arguing like an old married couple."

"This is hardly the time, Nikola," groaned Helen.

"Actually, this is the perfect time," replied Tesla. "Before the two of you murder one another." He paused. "Oh, and the freaky profiler is awake."

"John, could you check on him?" asked Helen.

He nodded, but glared at Tesla before leaving the room.

"Finally, we are alone," commented Tesla.

"Spare me, Nikola," Helen snapped impatiently.

"What's got you so cranky?"

"Is there an actual reason that you came here? Or is it just so you can pester me?"

"A little bit of both actually," he replied. "Your hairy friend sent me to give you some morphiene."

"I don't need it."

"You need to rest. Those wounds that brat gave you nearly made you bleed to death."

"If you do anything to harm her Nikola, I swear I will hunt you down and kill you slowly," Helen threatened.

"You really do need to spend less time with Jack the Ripper." He injected the needle and watched as Helen slowly drifted off.

---

John stopped in the doorway. He stared at the way his daughter was snuggled against Will, and the way he had his arm wrapped around her. He glared at Will with the intention to kill. But he couldn't allow for Ashley to see him in that light. He thought of how Helen would react. The reprucussions sent shivers down his spine just thinking about them.

He cleared his throat. Both Ashley and Will turned to look at him. Will frowned. Ashley yawned, blinked, and dozed off.

"Mr. Druitt." Will tried his hardest not to sound like he was in any pain.

"Mr. Zimmerman," replied John. He stepped closer. "This is hardly appropriate for a girl as young as Ashley."

Will blinked. He looked down at Ashley. "No! I swear, I have nothing like that in mind!" he said in haste. He cringed and shifted so lightly so as to not wake Ashley.

"That's not what it looks like to me," replied John menacingly.

"Hey Druitt, she's seven!" He winced in pain.

"That has never stopped pedifiles before," growled John. He began pacing back and forth like a predator searching for an opening to his prey.

"And she curled up next to me," scoffed Will.

John frowned. He glared at the younger man. If Ashley were ten years older, he would chase Will away. Well, more than just chase the lad away from his daughter. He sat in a chair close to the bed and studied the way his daughter was so innocently snuggled against a man more than twice her age. In the time he grew up in such a thing would not be tollerated.

"What was your relationship with my daughter like before the Cabal did this to her?" he inquired.

Will blinked. He was completely taken off guard. He thought about what John was asking him for a few long moments. He swallowed the lump in his throat before answering, "We were close friends. She saved my ass more times than I can count. Not a day has gone by since the Cabal tried tearing the Sanctuary network down that I don't think about ripping them apart myself." He met John's gaze.

"Be careful to not give into those impulses young William," advised John. "If you start now, there is _no_ going back from that."

"I will keep that in mind." He was silent for a long moment, deep in thought. He was worried about Helen. "How is Magnus?"

"She was awake when I left," informed John. "Nikola is with her now."

The door flew open. Kate stood in the doorway, holding a boquet of carnations. She halted when she saw John. Her eyes then fell on Will and Ashley. She frowned at the sight. "Am I interupting anything?" She sounded concerned.

"Not at all, Ms. Freelander. William and I were just finishing our little conference." John stood and exited the room. Before he left, he sent a death glare to Will.

"What was that all about?" asked Kate, staring after John before shutting the door.

"Nothing," answered Will. He stared at Kate, and then the flowers that she had brought for him; at least he assumed that they were for him. "You didn't have to bring those."

"You gave everyone quite a fright," replied Kate stiffly. She put the flowers in the vase on the nightstand next to Will. "Are you sure that its safe to be alone with the kid?"

"She's sleeping, Kate." Will exhaled slowly. It hurt to breathe. He slowly pulled his shirt up to have a look at the bandages that covered his stitched up wounds. He would most definately be kept in bed for a while.

"You were close to her before, weren't you?"

Will grinned at some of his fond memories of Ashley before the Cabal changed her. "Yea. We were close."

Kate frowned. "Well-is there anything that I can get for you?"

"A book would do wonders," chuckled Will. He winced after a moment. He had to keep himself from laughing too much. Great.

"No food?" She sounded confused. "You have been out for the last forty-eight hours."

Will blinked. "Its been that long?" Now that he thought about it, he did feel hungry. "Grapes?"

Kate nodded. She hurried out of the room. That left Will alone with his thoughts.

John would be watching his interactions with Ashley very closely; with or without Helen's permission. He had to make sure that John didn't even have the suspicion that he had feelings toward Ashley. But just what were those feelings? They weren't sexual in the least. But then what else could it be? The only way that he could describe it was that he had the big brother instinct toward her. He would always be there for her. He would listen to all her problems. He would always protect her from any danger. He silently pulled her tighter to him.

"I will always be there for you, Ashley," he promised aloud.

She shifted slightly, as if she had heard him. Her lips twitched into a slight smile before converting back to the content expression of a sleeping child. She gripped his shirt into her small hands, and tugged lightly at the matterial.

A/N: Aw, wasn't that just sweet? The next chapter will hopefully be up soon. I am at work on it already. And sorry about the wait. I have a trip to London to plan.


	5. Henry's Choice

His mind was in an uproar ever since Helen brought a girl who resembled Ashley into the Sanctuary. Henry wanted to scream out at the world. Ashley was dead as far as he was concerned. The young abnormal certainly looked like Ashley, but there was no way that seven-year-old girl could be Helen's daughter. He paced back and forth in his bedroom.

Helen had just called for a meeting in her office to introduce everyone to the girl that she was calling Ashley. Shortly after the abnormal child had nearly killed both Helen and Will. The girl should by all rights be locked up, but John would not allow it. He specifically forbade Henry from going anywhere near her when he threatened to put her in a holding cell.

_"I will not allow you to put my daughter in a holding cell like those animals you keep!" John had yelled, pointing a finger at Henry._

_ Henry's anger was rolling off him in waves at this point. He had just watched Helen being carried into the infirmary, and Tesla was doing everything he could to save her life with Big Guy's help. Henry could hardly contain himself. He glared menacingly at John. "Do you want to keep Magnus alive or not?! Or is your single most important goal to have her blood on your hands?!"_

_ John had him against the wall before he could react. The former serial murderer had that old shadow in his face. "I suggest that you keep your accusations to yourself, dear boy." His voice was shaking with a calm rage. "And for your information, I do wish to keep Helen very much alive. But how do you suppose she will act if we do anything to harm Ashley? Hmm?"_

_ He didn't listen to anything that John had said. His features were changing to suit his wolf nature. He shoved John away, and knocked the other man into the bookshelf. The wood crashed and splintered. Books were ripped, and some came flying up. He regained some of his control. He knew full well that Helen still had lingering feelings for John, and she would skin him alive if he did anything to cause lasting harm to her ex-lover. "Don't ever get into my face." He had stormed out of the library._

That was the last he had seen of John, and that had been two days ago. He had locked himself away into his room. He refused to come out until Helen woke up when he could speak with her, and possibly knock some common sense into her. He knew that he had kept neutral when Helen first brought the abnormal into the Sanctuary, but now it had threatened her life as well as Will's. He couldn't stand for it happening again.

A knock rapped his door. It was gentle and quick. "Go away!" he snapped.

"Henry!" It was Kate.

He blinked for a long moment. Kate...gentle? Since when? He went to open the door. She jumped back when he did. He couldn't blame her. He hadn't had time to shave, and he could feel his face getting scruffy. His eyes were probably also bloodshot due to the lack of sleep since Helen brought that abnormal in. "What now?" He sounded almost whiny.

"You haven't come out of your room in _two days_," stated Kate. "Have you had anything to eat?"

"I'll be fine," replied Henry irritably. "I have hot pockets in the fridge."

"You need some nuitrition." She held up a bag of take out Chinese. "I got all this food and can't finish it myself. Tesla doesn't want any, Big Guy doesn't like this stuff, and Druitt is just too damn creepy."

Henry almost smirked at her comment about John. He stepped aside to let her in. She was probably also bored with no real interaction from anyone. Will was still unconscious, and Helen wouldn't be talking for several days. And he knew that she was afraid of the "super abnormal brat" as she was fond of calling Ashley. "Sorry the room is such a mess." He sounded lame, even to his own ears.

She turned to eye him critically. "Have you _seen _my room?" she retorted.

"Good point."

Kate forced a smile. She sat down in the middle of the floor and waited for Henry to join her. She took out the food and set it out. She handed him a pair of chopsticks. She silently split her own and rubbed them together. "Henry...can I ask you something?"

He blinked. "What is it?"

She paused for a brief moment. It was as if she were reconsidering her question. She composed word for word in her mind before asking, "What sort of person was Ashley before?"

Henry blinked. The question took him completely off guard. He thought it over for several minutes. "She was...a good friend."

Kate reached out, and squeezed his shoulder firmly. "Hey. It'll be ok." She gave him a small smile; which was a rare occurance for her to be doing, but nonetheless it made Henry feel that much better about the situation at hand. "We'll just stand back, and keep a lookout. If things get too messy, Magnus will have us around to clean up."

"I just hope it doesn't come to that," sighed Henry. He reached out, and carefully caressed Kate's cheek. Her dark skin was so soft. It surprised him a little because of how rough she acted around him. He pulled back suddenly.

"What's wrong?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

He got up, and walked away from her. "I can't."

"Why not?" Kate stood next to him. She kept a healthy distance away only to give him some space.

Henry squeezed his eyes shut. She didn't know about what he had become. "Get out." His voice was strained as he said the words.

"Why?"

"Just get out!" he snapped.

"Alright! I'll go." She stopped at the door to take one last look at him before stepping out of the room.

Henry plopped down on his bed. It would be a long night for him. That he was prepared for. It was the consequences should his alter ego come out that he was afraid of. He didn't want to hurt Kate. He stayed there all night; knowing that there would be no solice.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I had finals all last week, and this week hasn't been the best either. I will try and update soon. I have a laptop now, so typing should be easier, and quicker.


	6. Shoping With Jack the Ripper

It had been two days since Helen made her full recovery. She was currently sitting at her desk, filling out all the paperwork from the most recent mission. She knew that Ashley was spending time with Will. Will had to be confined to a wheelchair; at least for now. He had argued with Helen, but she remained firm with her diagnosis.

A knock on her door interrupted her. She brought her eyes up to the door. "Come in," she called.

The door opened, and John walked in. "Helen," he greeted cordially.

"John." She watched him with care. "Is there something wrong?"

"I was only wondering when you are planning on redoing Ashley's room," replied John. He seated himself casually in the chair across from Helen.

Helen blinked. That's right, she thought to herself. She had made plans to make Ashley's room more acceptable for a seven-year-old girl. "Today, if time allows. I was just doing the paperwork on the mission from a couple weeks ago."

"That can wait," said John. "Or you could have Mr. Foss, or Ms. Freelander complete such tasks."

She sighed. Leave it to John to suggest such things. "Alright, but first I must do some shopping."

"Shall I leave you to get ready then?" asked John. He smiled mischievously.

"I will be out in a few minutes, John." Helen looked into his eyes.

"Very well. I will wait for you at the door then." He got up, and turned to leave her office.

Helen was left with her heart pounding, as she always was when John was around. Finally, after all these years, she could live her dream, and have a full family. Things had a chance to finally be right between John and her.

She stood, and walked out of her office. She strode down the familiar halls of her home, deeply immersed in her own thoughts. She nearly bumped into Henry on the way to her room.

"Doc!" he yipped.

"Henry!" Helen sounded equally surprised. She searched his facial expression. He was hiding something from her. "Is something the matter, Henry?"

"Actually Doc, I wanted to apologize." He sounded very putout about whatever it was that he was hiding.

"For what?"

"My recent behavior toward Ashley," admitted Henry sheepishly. He shifted his feet. "Forgive me for saying this, but none of it feels right to me. She just is not our Ashley. Doc, I've just learned to accept Ashley's death, and now she's a seven-year-old, dangerous little girl." He looked away from her.

Helen reached out, and squeezed Henry's shoulder. "I know, Henry." She sounded worn, and tired. She sounded more her age than normal, and that frightened Henry. "And I don't mean to put anyone in danger. Please understand that I only want my daughter back." She forced a smile, and continued to her room.

When she was finally alone in her own personal sanctuary, her body shook with the rush of emotion that she was feeling. Losing Ashley was the hardest thing she had ever endured. It was something that she had always had to face with her line of work, and her longevity. Now that she had her little girl back, she would do everything in her power to protect Ashley. She slid down her door, wrapped her arms around her knees, and cried.

She had no idea how long she stayed like this, but when she finally returned to her body, it was dusk. There was still shopping to be done, and she was not dressed for such an activity.

She went to her wardrobe, and shifted through her clothing. She found a dark v-neck sweater, and a pair of black slacks. For shoes, she found a pair of black boots without a heel. She quickly got dressed, and looked into the mirror.

Her eye make-up was smeared from her earlier tears. She touched it up. After one final look, she declared herself ready.

She again entered the halls of the Sanctuary. She found John waiting next to the front door. Her heart leapt to her throat. She composed her face so that he would not notice. She walked steadily closer to her ex-fiancé.

"You took longer than expected," chided John with a slight smile.

"I got caught up helping a patient," lied Helen. Her voice shook slightly.

"Of course," replied John calmly. "Shall we go then? I can have a car ready, or we could travel my way."

"I would prefer a car thank you. The things I plan on buying Ashley cannot be taken by teleportation in a single trip."

"Then wait here while I get a cab." John left with quick strides. His leather trench coat billowed out behind him.

Helen waited patiently for his return. His mannerisms reminded her of when they were young lovers. Despite everything they had gone through, the powers than be seemed to have a way of bringing them back together. She could never love another man as she had loved John.

She did not have to wait long, but it was enough to get a grip over her feelings. When John returned to her, he no longer wore his coat. Instead, he wore the more traditional gray collared, button up shirt, black slacks, and a pea coat.

She followed him when he beckoned. They walked in step down to the garage, where Big Guy was waiting for them.

"Magnus." The abnormal inclined his head to his boss. "Where to?"

"The mall in Victoria," instructed Helen politely.

"Alright," Big Guy grunted. He got into the driver's seat of the dark car.

John opened the door to the back seat for Helen. He motioned for her to get in first.

Helen sighed inwardly. Gentlemen were hard to find in this day, and age. They were a dying breed, so to speak. She slid into her seat, and waited for John to get into the car.

Big Guy started up the engine of the car, and slowly pulled out of the garage. He drove through New City with care. He was silent while Helen and John chatted idly.

"It seems that events have come full circle," commented John. He turned his attention from the window to Helen. There was something akin to pain in his eyes when he looked at her.

Helen felt pity for him. She knew his pain only because she had gone through the same agony when he had become Jack the Ripper. She had always heard that time could heal any wound. She knew that to be untrue. "So it seems," she replied softly. She secretly longed for his touch.

Perhaps it had been too long since she had known the touch of a man. Her last lover had been Ben. He had been dead for over ten years now.

She blinked the irrational feeling away. John was a killer, but he was also Ashley's father. Ashley would begin to ask questions when she got older.

"Helen?"

She blinked again when John's concern brought her back to reality. "Yes?" she half-purred. Dear God, what has come over me? Her own thoughts rang in her mind.

"What's wrong?" asked John. His voice was so full of worry that it reminded Helen of what once was between them.

The night that they had conceived Ashley was a special one. Gregory had just given his blessing for John to propose to Helen. It was only a couple weeks after the engagement had been made official. John had come over with flowers for Helen. It was a late spring night. They had shared a bottle of wine, and had made love. However, weeks later, John had changed so drastically that it had broken Helen.

The memories nearly brought tears of pain to Helen's eyes. She looked away from John. "Just memories," she muttered.

John took her hand in his. There was nothing intimate about the contact. It was merely companionship. He still cared very much for Helen. He was still deeply in love with her. And he could guess what memories she was talking about. "I know how much it hurts," was all he said.

Helen appreciated his compassion. She shivered at his touch. She gently pulled her hand away after a moment of solace.

They enjoyed each other's silent company for the duration of the ride. Helen retreated within her thoughts, while John hummed quietly.

After the hour-long trip, Big Guy pulled into the parking lot, and let them out of the car. He pulled away after they got out to find a place to park. "Call me when you're done," he instructed Helen.

Helen walked several paces ahead of John. She kept her guard up when they entered the mall. There was a small crowd of shoppers. It took some investigating for Helen to discover that there were several massive sales going on. She shared an irritated glance with John before walking into a toy store.

John found himself overwhelmed with the amount of toys readably available to children. He could not decide which ones to buy for Ashley. He did not even know what she liked. He browsed the merchandise.

"Helen, what do you think Ashley would be happy with?" he asked.

She could not help but to smirk at his helplessness. He had not had the chance of being a father before. "Dolls, stuffed animals, that sort of thing."

He nodded at her suggestion. He started grabbing every cute stuffed animal he could find: a cat, dog, teddy bears, a rabbit, and a kangaroo. He also grabbed a 1880s style porcelain doll that reminded him of Helen.

Helen focused mainly on children's books such as The Lion King, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid¸ Peter Pan, The Beauty And The Beast, and Snow White. She turned to John when her arms were full of the books. "Are you ready to check out?" she asked.

"We should buy Ashley a proper bed, and a toy chest," replied John.

"There are other stores for that."

John nodded. He followed Helen to the checkout stand, and watched with a smoldering anger as she paid for everything. He knew that she had a large bank account, but that did not stop him from wanting to be the one to pay. He carried the bags through the mall. He followed her into another store filled with beds.

Helen picked out the bed. It was simple enough, but still elegant to match the rest of the Sanctuary. She paid for it, and had it sent out to the car. John was honestly impressed with how she had things done for her, and still held her dignity. For being a woman from the late 1800s, she was strong. She had to be for all that she has been through.

They walked through the mall again, but they did not find a shop with a toy chest. Eventually, they had to give up and go back to the car. John put everything into the trunk. It almost did not fit.

The following morning dawned with unrelenting brightness. Helen had not slept the entire night. When she had gotten home, Ashley was already sound asleep. She felt guilty for not spending much time with her daughter over the last few days. She found herself pacing back and forth in her office.

A knock interrupted her. She halted mid-step. "Come in."

The door opened, and Kate walked in. She blinked at Helen. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Magnus," she said uncertainly.

"Not at all, Kate," replied Helen breathlessly. "What can I help you with?"

"It's Henry," murmured Kate. "He's hiding something from me. I know he is."

Helen sighed. She sat at her desk, and motioned for Kate to sit across from her. She waited for Kate to seat herself. "Henry has a lot on his mind right now. We all do at this point. You weren't around before, but Henry was quite close to Ashley, and when the Cabal got their hands on my daughter, it tore him to shreds."

Kate shook her head. "It's something more," she said.

"Let Henry open up to you in his own time," advised Helen. She waited for Kate to leave her office.


	7. Peace

Later that day, Helen was working to remodel Ashley's room. She had the weapons, fight-training gear, and other things that were not appropriate for a seven-year-old removed, and put into storage. She glanced over at John, who was putting stuffed animals on the shelves that they had just put up. A light smile crossed her lips. She would have never imagined Jack the Ripper decorating a little girl's room with light and fluffy toys.

John turned to her, and caught the smile, but pretended not to notice. He glanced away. "I am sorry that I was never around for you and Ashley." He sounded sincere about what he said.

"John, you were Jack the Ripper then." Helen shuddered at the horrifying memories of what they went through in the 1880s. "There was no way that you could be a father under those circumstances."

"Nor a proper husband." He set down the large rabbit stuffed animal he was holding, and rushed to be behind Helen. His fingers traced lightly along the curve of her back. He breathed into her ear, just as he had done when they were deeply in love with one another and thought that nothing could tear them apart.

"John, please," Helen pleaded in a shuddering whisper. She pressed herself against his front out of instinct. She would always know his touch from another man's.

"Helen, you are not the only one looking for a second chance. Let me make amends for what I have done."

She forced herself to scoot away just enough that they were no longer touching. She turned to face him. He was back to being her John, or so she wanted to believe. "John, it is going to take time to heal those wounds."

He frowned. His eyes showed regret, longing, and passion all at once. "I will wait as long as it takes." He leaned in to gently kiss her hairline. Her lavender scent was intoxicating to him, but he managed to pull away, and continue to help decorate Ashley's room.

Helen struggled to keep her focus. She still longed for John's gentle touch, his caresses, kisses, and his simple company. She closed her eyes. So much had happened in the last year. At least the Cabal are gone, she thought.

The hours ticked by quickly. After two more hours of decorating, Ashley's room was complete to Helen's satisfaction.

"What now?" John seemed lost and out of place. He was looking to Helen for advice.

"We go and get Ashley." Helen stood up, took a deep breath, and left the room.

"What if she doesn't like her room?" John struggled to keep up with her, despite being taller than she was.

"She will," assured Helen softly. She stopped outside Will's office, and knocked on the door.

It was several minutes before the door opened. Will blinked at them when he opened the door. His hair was ruffled. He stumbled, and hit his head on the doorframe when Ashley came from behind and jumped onto his shoulders.

"And what did she do when you kissed her?" Ashley asked in a high-pitched squeal.

Will groaned when his head hit the wooden doorframe. He struggled to keep his balance so that he would not squash Ashley. "Um…Magnus…Druitt."

"What's this, Mr. Zimmerman?" John glared at Will disapprovingly.

"Not what you think," groaned Will.

"It's everything Daddy thinks!" Ashley slid down to the floor, and danced around the office. Books and papers littered the floor.

"Don't listen to her." Will rubbed his head, which now had a healthy bruise. "She's been crazy all afternoon."

"Ashley, were you well-behaved for Will?" asked Helen. She knelt down and caught Ashley by the shoulders.

"Yes, Mommy…."

Helen sighed heavily. She would have to have a talk with Ashley about the wrongs of lying. "Your father and I have a surprise for you."

"YAY!" Ashley screeched. She started jumping up and down.

She glared up at Will. "If you gave her any sugar, William Zimmerman, I swear I will have my revenge on you when you least expect it." She lifted Ashley off the ground, and walked down the hall with her daughter squirming the whole way back to the child's room.

"And I will gladly help," John whispered in Will's ear before following after Helen.

"Ashley, close your eyes." Helen made sure that her eyes were squeezed firmly shut before opening the door to the room.

She could not wait for her mother to give her the ok to open her eyes. When she did, she gasped with joy at the sight before her. In her room were more toys than she knew what to do with. She wiggled out of Helen's arms, and ran three laps around her newly decorated room. She ran back to hug Helen around the thighs. "Thank you, Mommy!"

Helen almost lost her balance when Ashley so unexpectedly grappled her legs. She patted her daughter's blonde hair. Her eyes softened as she remembered Ashley from nearly twenty years ago.

John's chuckle interrupted the tender scene. He smiled at the sight before him. He had his family back, the way it was supposed to be, except that Helen wasn't his wife. His eyes widened with shock when Ashley leapt up and tackled him. He caught her, and spun her around before setting her down.

"Play with me, Daddy!" She swung his arms wildly. Her smile brightened up the hallway outside her room.

He looked up at Helen, who smiled and nodded. "Alright." He followed his overly excited daughter into her room. He watched as she took the large rabbit stuffed animal, and hugged it tightly to her chest.

"Play with this one!" Ashley pressed the kangaroo to his chest.

He sat down with her on the floor, and did everything that she told him. He laughed with her.

Helen watched them from the doorway. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She smiled when John tickled Ashley with the kangaroo, and chased her around the room.

It was several hours before Ashley passed out on John's lap. John remained still for quite some time. He hummed a tune that had become Helen's favorite hum to fall asleep to. He stroked Ashley's back lightly.

"We should get her to bed." Helen walked into the room.

"I will get her." John carefully lifted her up. He stopped when she groaned in her sleep. His eyes softened, and he carried her to bed. He set her down, and carefully tucked the blankets around her petit frame.

"Good night, princess." He leaned in and kissed her brow. "I love you more than you could ever know." With that, he left the room with Helen at his side.


	8. Minor Complications

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I spent my summer traveling, and I did not bring the laptop with the files with me. I do very much plan on finishing this, though classes have started.

Helen sat in the library, reading Jim Butcher's Storm Front. It was some of the only time she got to herself; especially lately, with Ashley wrecking havoc within the Sanctuary. Just the other day, her daughter had gotten the brilliant idea of "fixing" Big Guy's hair. Helen had, of course, laughed at the sight, but she had been forced to ground Ashley for a week.

Her cell phone rang. She sighed heavily. _Now what_? She answered it. "This is Magnus."

"Helen Magnus, this is David Keller…head of the Greece Sanctuary."

"Yes…what can I help you with?" She tried to hide the impatience from her voice, but she doubted that she did too well with it.

"Are you familiar with Nága?"

"Yes. Is something wrong with him?"

"He is on the move. We lost track of him after he started going rogue. He's killed five civilians. Magnus, I do not want a catastrophe on my hands. Please, assist my team."

"I will send help."

"Thank you."

She hung up, and sighed heavily. She set her book down. Her duty to the human race called. She walked to the elevator, and took it to her office, where she called Kate and Tesla.

They arrived within ten minutes of her call. Tesla looked less than happy, while Kate looked neutral.

"Nikola…Kate…" She turned to them each in turn. "The Greek Sanctuary called, and they have a situation on their hands. An abnormal by the name of Nága has caused quite a stir. He is normally docile, but he has recently killed five civilians. I want you to go to the Sanctuary headquarters in Athens, and find out what is going on. When you find out, call me, and I will determine the best course of action. Do not engage Nága unless I tell you to. Am I understood?"

"Yea," responded Kate.

"Why should I help you?" demanded Tesla.

"Come now, Nikola. I thought you would enjoy a trip to Athens." She smiled at his sour expression.

"On vacation _maybe_. What you're doing is sending me on a wild goose chase that might end badly." He paused. "Now, if we were going _together_; just the _two_ of us, then perhaps I would reconsider."

"I have to remain here to keep a close watch over Ashley."

"If you insist," Tesla sighed. "Come on, Ms. Freelander." He stopped at the door, just as Kate exited the office. "I will expect proper compensation for this _favor_."

"You will get it, if I deem it appropriate." Helen watched him leave. When he was gone, she stood up and walked over to her window.

It was a decent day for the Pacific Northwest: cloudy with a few sun breaks. She placed her forehead against the cool windowpane. She let out a heavy sigh before making her way to the rooftop.

She stood on the edge, and looked down at the busy streets below. People were shopping in the marketplace. Boats were moving slowly against the current. None of them was aware at the impossible that constantly occurred in her life. She laughed at the thought. She was an impossibility, and so was her daughter.

_We found her as a seven-year-old little girl. Why? I had just accepted her death_. The thoughts swam around in her head. She played with every possible scenario. None of it, no matter how hard she tried, made any sense. She sighed as a breeze caught her hair. Some of the strands got in her face, which she half-heartedly batted away.

"I thought I would find you up here."

She turned and saw that it was Will. He stood behind her. "Is there something that needs my attention?"

"Nope." He pulled himself up on the ledge and sat next to her. "I just thought that you needed some company."

"Thank you for the thought."

"Most all of the Sanctuaries are rebuilt, with some upgrades."

Helen frowned at the mention of the damaged Sanctuary network. The wound that the Cabal had dealt was still very deep, and one that Helen would remember for as long as she would live. Her jaw tightened. "That is good to know."

"And Kate seems to be a nice addition to our team." Will glanced up at his boss before looking back down at the busy city.

"Her intel on the Cabal proved useful." Hot tears burned her eyes. She blinked them away. "And I couldn't risk her going back to the Cabal."

"Magnus, you're doing it again." Will sounded patient, but there was also a hint of annoyance in his voice. It was akin to him being a parent to a disobedient child.

"Doing what?" She blinked at him.

"Rationalizing your emotions."

"I feel nothing for Ms. Freelander."

"Of course not. That is precisely why you took her in instead of handing her over to the authorities, or locking her away in one of your holding cells until you could decide what to do with her."

"I am not cruel, William," snapped Helen.

"No, but when the Cabal took Ashley, you were similar to a mother grizzly. Kate was an obstacle in your way of getting your daughter back. No one can blame you for how you acted."

"Are you done with your psychoanalysis yet?"

Will opened his mouth to respond, but the alarms went off.

"Bloody hell! What now?" Helen turned and ran across the roof to the elevator with Will close behind.

She tapped her foot while the elevator took them down to the main floor. Many possibilities bounced around in her mind: Ashley accidentally attacked someone, John went back to his old habits, someone was trying to break into the Sanctuary, or an abnormal got loose…. When the elevator doors opened, her life stopped for a moment.

Ashley stood at the top of the staircase, screaming out in horror. Coming through the front door was Tesla holding a wounded Kate.

Helen ran forward. "Nikola, get her into the OR, and give me a full report of what happened." She turned to Will. "Get Ashley into her room, and calm her down."

"Helen, we didn't even get out of the city, and someone shot her," informed Tesla as he hurried to the OR with Kate. "It was like they were waiting for us."

"Damn!" When Tesla put Kate down, Helen checked the stomach wound. Kate was unconscious and barely breathing.

Disclaimer: Sorry, but I refuse to write out Helen patching Kate up. I don't know enough about medical things to write it out accurately. Maybe if someone helps me out I will add it in later.


	9. Jane

A/N: More moments with Little Ashley! Yay!

"Will, there is a lot to be done!" Helen's voice had risen to its most extreme without her screaming at him.

"And you have a full team of people to do it," argued Will. "Magnus, you need to take some time off. Spend the day with Ashley."

"With Kate out of commission, we have a greater workload on our hands."

"It'll get done."

"Will it, Will?"

He cringed. "Yes, Magnus."

"I will hold you to your word then." She stacked the paperwork that she had been working diligently to fill out before standing up and walking down the hall to Ashley's room.

When she opened the door, she found her daughter sitting on the ground, playing with the rabbit stuffed animal John had picked out for her. She smiled at the sight. A warmth spread throughout her body as she watched her daughter from the doorway. _Even if she is not Ashley, I can still hope_.

Ashley looked around, and smiled at her mother before running in for a hug. She buried her face in Helen's thigh. "Mommy!"

Helen's smile brightened as she stroked Ashley's hair. "Do you want to go to the park today?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" The little girl jumped up and down in a circle around Helen.

"We have to make you presentable first." Helen struggled somewhat to get Ashley into jeans and a light brown sweater.

"Are you going out for an afternoon stroll?"

Helen jumped at the sound of John's voice. Her heart raced against her chest.

"Mommy's taking me to the park!" Ashley announced proudly.

"Is that so? And would it be alright with your mother if I accompanied the two of you?"

Helen eyed him wearily. After a moment of sharing eye-contact with Ashley, she conceded to a single nod. She glared at him when she thought Ashley wasn't looking. "It would hardly be appropriate for a gentleman to watch a lady dress." Her words were directed at John.

"Of course." John took a slight bow before backing out of the room. "I will be waiting by the front door."

Helen worked to finish getting Ashley dressed. She smiled when her work ended triumphantly. "Now, before we leave, there has to be some rules that you will need to follow."

"But Mom!" She went silent when she caught the stern look her mother was giving her.

"These rules are in place for your own safety. Under no circumstance are you allowed to reveal your fangs or claws. While in public, you are not allowed to teleport. You will do as I say, when I say. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Mom." Ashley shifted her weight self-consciously.

"That's a good girl." Helen scooped Ashley up in her arms, and went downstairs to meet John.

"Are we ready then?" John twirled his cane in his left hand as he waited for Helen to descend down the stairs. He opened the door for his former lover. "Ladies first." He followed after her at a healthy distance.

The walk was silent, except for the bombardment of questions that Ashley asked, which Helen answered with vague riddles. Helen set Ashley down when they reached the local park about four blocks away from the Sanctuary.

John sighed deeply as he watched Ashley run to the playground. His face was all but expressionless without the grim frown he had. He closed his eyes, and uttered: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; coral is far more red than her lips' read; if snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; if hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, but no such roses see I in her cheeks; and in some perfumes is there more delight than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know that music hath a far more pleasing sound. I grant I never saw a goddess go; my mistress when she walks, treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare." He opened his eyes to find Helen looking sideways at him.

"O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power dost hold Time's fickle glass, his sickle hour; who hast by waning grown, and therein show'st thy lovers withering as thy sweet self grow'st; if Nature, sovereign mistress over wrack, as thou goest onwards, still will pluck thee back, she keeps thee to this purpose, that her skill may Time disgrace and wretched minutes kill. Yet fear her, O thou minion of her pleasure! She may detain, but not still keep, her treasure. Her audit, though delayed, answered must be, and her quietus is to render thee."

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lease hath all to short a date. Sometimes too hot the eyes of heaven shines, and often in his gold complexion dimmed; and every fair from fair sometimes declines, by chance or nature's course untrimmed. But thy eternal summer shall not fade nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; nor shall Death brag though wanderest in his shade, when in eternal lines to time thou grow'st. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

A small smirk crept across Helen's face. "We used to do this exact thing when we were in Oxford."

"That was how I gained your attention, fair lady. I saw you walking with James one summer afternoon in the courtyard of our college, and called out to you with Shakespeare's fifty-fifth sonnet."

"And such a dog you were," Helen chided lightly.

"Helen, I have never left your side. All those years, I have always thought of finding you when my ailment could be cured."

"John—"

Meanwhile, Ashley spotted a young girl about her age. The girl had long dark hair done in braided pigtails. She was sitting in the sandbox, playing quietly by herself.

"Hi, can I play with you?"

The dark haired girl looked up at her. She shrugged silently before going back to playing with the sand.

Ashley sat down next to her. "My name is Ashley."

The other girl did not reply. She glanced up when Ashley began piling sand into a mound.

The two girls played quietly for several minutes. They built, around themselves, a wall of sand that went up to their shoulders as they sat.

"My name is Jane."

"You can talk!" Ashley gasped, then giggled as a handful of sand was thrown at her shoulder.

"Where do you live?" Jane asked after she settled down.

"A really big house. Where do you live?"

"Um…in God's house."

"My daddy just got back from there, but mommy called it heaven."

Jane shook her head. "No, not heaven. God's house is this place for people who have nowhere else to go."

"Where are your mommy and daddy?"

"They left me."

"That's not right."

Jane shook her head again. "The nuns take care of me. It isn't so bad."

"I will help you find your parents," Ashley promised, crossing her heart with her finger.

"It isn't that easy," murmured Jane. She turned away, and hid her face in her arms. "My mommy and daddy are in heaven."

"They can come back. My daddy did."

"Father Harmon says that it's impossible to return from heaven. Only Jesus can."

"Father Harmon is lying," Ashley declared. "My daddy was in heaven. Now he's back. He's got to be lying to you."

"That's not right."

"I'm telling you it is. I'll show you someday."

Jane looked up at Ashley with tear-stained cheeks. "You promise?" Ashley nodded. "Cross your heart, and hope to die promise?" The blonde girl nodded again. "Pinky promise?" They interlocked their pinkies.

"Ashley!" Helen called.

"Is that your mommy?"

Ashley nodded quickly. "Yup!" She turned to her mother. "Coming!" Then she turned back to Jane. "Promise we'll see each other again?"

"I guess."

"Come find me at the giant house by the water." She ran back to her parents, and squealed when John lifted her high up in the air.

Jane watched the scene with tear-filled eyes. She walked silently the other way where a young nun sat at the park bench, reading a book.

"Who was that you were playing with?" Helen asked.

"Jane."

"What is it that parents do to treat their children?" John asked no one in particular.

"Ice cream?" Ashley sounded just a bit too excited. She jumped in circles around her parents as they walked down the sidewalk.

Helen and John exchanged a look. "You're taking care of her."

"Ice cream it is then," announced John. He smiled when Ashley screamed in excitement.

The trio walked to the nearest ice cream parlor. John glanced at the flavors, some of them earning a raised eyebrow. He looked up at Helen, his eyes softening to see Helen holding Ashley up so that their daughter could see the different flavors.

"I want the brownie one!" Ashley pointed at the ice cream tub.

"One child cone with brownie ice cream." John could hear the heavy sigh in Helen's voice. "And a vanilla cone, one scoop."

"I will have the same."

"Is that all?" The cashier backed away when he caught the look in John's eyes. "Right then. Your total is $5.50."

John retrieved the money from his pocket, and handed it to the small teenage boy before watching the ice cream being served.

On the way out, Ashley got two licks before the ice cream fell to her feet. Her eyes brimmed over with tears, and she sniffled.

John could feel his heart breaking at the sight of the center of his small universe broken up over the spilt ice cream. He looked down at his own cone, up at Helen, who had a similar look of pity, back to the cone, and smashed it into Helen's face before sweeping Ashley up, putting her on his shoulders, and running away from a yelling Helen.

"John Montague Druitt! I swear when I catch up to you—you'll pay!"


	10. Haunting Past

A/N: Sorry this one is so short, it is more of a scene than an actual chapter, but due to content, must stand alone.

_She walked through her mother's main lab. Everything in her vision looked red. She looked down at her mother. Helen was badly injured on the arm, and crying. A large gun laid at her side, which she seemed to refuse to pick up. _

_ "Hey, Blondie!" The voice came from Kate. Ashley looked up in time to see a rocket hurtling her way. _

_ She took the blast, and flew back several feet. The next thing she knew, she was back on her feet after a woman pushed her mother down. The woman had claws like she did. Her claws extended to their full length when she saw the strange woman looming over her mother. She grabbed the wrist of the woman with her clawed hand._

_ "Ashley, please!" Helen sobbed._

_ Ashley turned to her mother. "Mom!" she choked. With her mind set, she teleported with the strange woman._

Ashley woke with a scream. She looked down to see her blanket torn to shreds, and some of the cloth stuck to her claws. She also noticed the fangs. She cried out again.

Helen looked over at her secondary computer screen, which was connected to the security camera she had installed into Ashley's room. Her eyes narrowed at what she saw on the screen. She threw her pen down, and marched straight to Ashley's room. She nearly bumped into John outside the library.

"Something's wrong with Ashley," he said as he trailed behind her.

"I know." She continued walking without further acknowledging his existence. She pushed open the door to Ashley's room, and accidentally slammed it against the wall of the child's room.

Ashley screamed when she saw the outline of her parents. She tried covering her mouth with her clawed hands, but Helen caught her. "No! Stay away from me before you're hurt again!"

"Ashley, I'm not going anywhere," Helen replied softly. She sat at the foot of Ashley's bed, and did her best to smile softly. "What happened?"

"I don't know. Mommy, I'm afraid."

"Come here, sweet-heart." Helen held her arms open until her daughter edged close enough for her to embrace her. She held Ashley close, and buried her face in her child's soft, blonde hair, and wept silently. "Its all going to be alright. Mummy's here."

"Mommy, why are you crying?"

Helen stiffened. She pulled back, and stared at Ashley in wonder. "It's nothing. Come to my room. I'll tell you a story."

"Ok." She snuggled closer to her mother, and closed her eyes. Her claws and fangs retracted, and she appeared again to be a normal child.

Helen shifted so that she could carry Ashley out of the room. When she looked up, John was already gone. She sighed inwardly, and walked down the hall to her private room.

She walked to her bed, where she sat with Ashley, and gently rocked the child back and forth. She listened to the sound of Ashley's slow, deep breathing before reaching back for a small, leather bound book. As she opened the book, she looked down to see Ashley already asleep. Her eyes softened, and she adjusted herself so that she could lay down with her daughter. She turned off her overhead lamp before succumbing to sleep herself.


	11. Birthday

Over the following months, Ashley learned to have a measure of control over her vampiric tendencies with Nikola's help. She spent the majority of her days in Helen's office, being tutored by her mother, and sometimes Will or the Big Guy would have to take over when Helen left for a mission. She went through a couple growth spurts, much to Helen's and John's dismay, but they took her clothes shopping when she outgrew outfits that they had bought her only two weeks prior.

"Henry!" Ashley whined. "Mommy said that you had to!"

"I don't want to watch it," snapped Henry. "Can't we watch something else? How about Spider man?"

"That one's boring though."

"Henry!" yelled Helen from down the hall. She threw him a stern look.

"But Doc! Can't you have Will or the Big Guy watch it with her? This is the tenth time this week that she's tried to make me sit through that movie. Heck, I bet even Kate would be thrilled to watch it with her."

"She's missed you, Henry. You've been gone for six weeks."

"Yea, because I had important business to take care of in San Diego."

"Seriously, dude, you went to Comic Con, _again_?" Will teased from behind. Everyone turned to him. He carried a big stack of paperwork.

"So what if I did?" Henry countered defensively.

"Henry, if you don't watch Beauty and the Beast with my daughter, so help me God, I will take away your computer privileges for a year!"

"Alright. Alright, I'll watch it with her." Henry cringed as Helen walked by toward Will. He looked down at Ashley, and sighed when the young girl gave him a triumphant grin. "Ok, little brat, come here." He bent down to pick her up, and carried her to the entertainment room. "You're getting too heavy for this, you know that, right?"

Once in the room, he sat her down on the couch, and went for the shelf with her movies. He turned back to her. "Are you sure you want to watch Beauty and the Beast?"

"Yes!"

He grumbled under his breath as he got the DVD out, and put it in the player. He looked down when Ashley snuggled closer to him at the start of the movie. His eyes softened, and he relaxed. _Yup, definitely Ashley, but cuter this time around_.

"You called for a meeting?" Kate asked as she walked into Helen's office. She looked around. Will and John were already there, and Big Guy came in behind her.

"Tomorrow is Ashley's birthday. Judging by her dental records, I have concluded that this new incarnation of my daughter is going to be eight." Helen looked around at the group surrounding her office.

"Wait—you want to throw her a party," Will concluded, pointing at the older woman comically.

"What else am I supposed to do, Will?" She turned to Big Guy. "I will need your help baking the cake."

"Do we have the ingredients?" he grunted.

"Yes." She turned back to Will and Kate. "I will need you two to decorate, but make sure that Ashley doesn't see you. I have Henry distracting her with Beauty and the Beast."

"Are you serious?" Kate snorted. "Oh, he's going to get a ration of shit."

"Language, if you please," snapped Helen. She shot Kate a disapproving glare before turning to John. "I assume that you still know how to cook."

"You are correct."

"You can cook?" Kate looked baffled, yet amused at the same time. "Aren't you from the 1700s, or something?"

"I was born in 1857," corrected John. "And yes, I do know how to cook. Men of my era still learned how to prepare meals."

"Whatever." Kate rolled her eyes. She turned to Will. "C'mon, before Magnus yells at us." She grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him off.

Helen sighed heavily. "I am right here." After everyone except Big Guy left her office to do her bidding, she got up. She walked with the sasquatch into the kitchen, and silently got out all the materials she would need for a cake.

Late that night, Helen found herself filling out her daily paperwork. Ashley had been put to bed, none the wiser about what was planned. Most of the resident abnormals were sleeping.

She sighed heavily as she leaned back in her chair. _So much has happened this past year_, she mused with a sad smile. She opened her eyes, and picked up the phone, dialing a very specific number.

Helen inhaled the cold morning air as the sun's rays hit the buildings of the city that surrounded her sanctuary. She exhaled slowly. _I suppose it is time to wake Ashley_.

She closed her eyes before stealing herself away from the rooftop. She took the elevator down to the residential level. She then walked down the halls until she stood outside Ashley's room. As she reached for the doorknob, she pulled back uncertainly.

"I could wake her, if it is too much for you, Helen."

She froze when she heard John's voice. Her body stiffened when she felt him stand directly behind her. "I will wake her," she said. She turned the doorknob slowly, and looked on Ashley's sleeping form.

Her daughter laid, curled up in her blankets. The sun touched her golden hair, making her appear to glow. Her expression was more peaceful than Helen ever remembered it being in the past.

_Such innocence, but she's still one of the most dangerous abnormals that I house in this sanctuary, and yet she has more freedom than most_.

Tears moistened her eyes. She squeezed them away, and walked the length of the room to Ashley's bed. She sat at the foot of the mattress, and gently stroked her daughter's soft hair. "Time to wake up, sweetie," she coaxed softly.

Ashley groaned, and shifted away from Helen's hand. A wide grin spread across her still sleeping face.

"Do I have to get Big Guy in here to scare you?"

Her eyes snapped open. She struggled with her growing fangs and claws. She cried out with fear.

"Helen!" John ran in, and pulled Helen away. He looked at his daughter with a haunted expression. He pulled Ashley close, careful not to get cut by her claws. "You can control it, Ashley. Remember: there is nothing to be afraid of while your mother and I are there for you." He grimaced when her claws grazed his chest, but he refused to let go.

Helen watched with fearful eyes. "John!"

Ashley shuddered as she regained control. She looked up at her parents with tearful eyes. "I'm sorry," she cried.

John forced a grin. "It is naught but a flesh wound. Your mother can patch me up later. But for now, you have presents to open." His smile widened as he watched Ashley's face suddenly light up. "Happy birthday, Ashley." His chest swelled with pride as he said those three words.

"Go to the kitchen, Ashley," Helen ordered softly.

"Helen, it's her birthday. Let her open her presents before breakfast." John pretended to look aghast.

"I am still her mother, and she needs to eat in order to remain healthy."

"But Mommy!"

Helen closed her eyes to block out the image of Ashley's pleading face. After a moment, she resigned. "Alright, but eat breakfast when you're done." She turned to John. "Tell everyone to meet us in my office." She lifted her daughter into her arms, and hugged her tightly, burying her face in Ashley's hair. She squeezed her eyes shut, and prayed that the day would last forever.

"Mommy, you're hurting me," Ashley squeaked.

Helen's eyes shot open. She loosened her grip. "Sorry." She carried her daughter out of the bedroom, and down the hall to her office.

Everyone was already waiting for them. A banner hung across the office that read: Happy Birthday Princess. "Happy birthday, Ashley," they all sang in unison.

Ashley squealed with delight, and wiggled out of her mother's arms. She ran over to John, and hugged around his legs, almost knocking him over from the impact. They both laughed as John scooped her up, and lifted her into the air.

Helen watched the interaction with soft eyes. "Alright. Who wants to open her presents?"

The little girl wiggled out of her father's arms. She smiled brightly as Big Guy brought in a large box, overflowing with wrapped boxes. One such gift that she pulled out was a larger box from Helen and John, that she discovered was a big screen television set. Her jaw dropped when she saw it. Helen and John both smiled widely at her reaction. Ashley continued to unwrap each of her presents: a handmade leather pouch from Big Guy, a jewelry box from Tesla, make-up from Kate, _Twilight_ from Henry, and a Disney Princess dress set from Will.

"Really, Tim? You _had _to get her _Twilight _of all movies?" Tesla grumbled as Ashley ate her waffles.

"Hey, every girl her age has that movie," retorted Henry.

"Yes, but now she's going to think that vampires _sparkle_!" Tesla looked genuinely disgusted as he stared at the cover of the DVD. "It's a disgrace really that those movies are so popular! Vampires cannot sparkle—unless they are homosexual loons."

Ashley looked up from her breakfast with an evil glint in her eyes. She finished eating before Tesla could catch the expression. She scooted down from her chair when she was finished, leaving Helen to clean her plate, and ran over to Will. She swung his arm up and down vigorously. "Can we play now? Please?"

Will looked down at her serenely innocent face. He looked as though he were in a great deal of pain as he looked down at her. Before breakfast, she had made various hints that she would make him her guinea pig for her new make-up set. He sent Kate a glare, who giggled.

"Oh, go on, William. I'm sure she'll make you real pretty."

He glanced up at Helen, then at John. He gave into Ashley's request at John's glare. He followed Ashley to her room. Well—he was more dragged there than actual following.

Ashley made him sit on the floor while she got out her new make-up collection. She started out by putting lipstick on, and smeared it all over his lips, just like clown make-up, same shade too. She then moved on to doing his eyeliner in black, which again, got smeared all over his face. She finished by applying blue eye shadow, but was a bit more conservative with this application.

Will endured his torture, though much to his horror, Kate was in the doorway, watching and taking photographs. He glared whenever Kate waved at him. No, he would never hear the end of this one.

"All done!" Ashley announced proudly. She dragged Will to his feet, and dragged him down the hall to Helen's office, passing by Kate, Henry, Big Guy, and Tesla (all of them looking adequately smug at her make-up job on Will). She found her mother placing a book back on the shelf.

When Helen turned around, and saw Will, she could not help but to laugh at his look of utter shame. She hugged her daughter close. "What's this you've done?"

"I made Will pretty!"

"That you have." She shot a half-hearted glare at Will when he opened his mouth to argue. "Why don't you let Will wash up? I have another surprise for you."

"What is it?" Ashley asked immediately.

Helen chuckled at her daughter's enthusiasm as Will quietly excused himself. "Come with me to the front door." She carried her daughter down the stairs to where the front door was. "Go open it." She set the squirming child down, and watched her run to open the door.

Jane stood on the other side with a young looking nun standing next to her with a bag of overnight clothes.

"Jane!" Ashley tackled her friend, much to the nun's disapproval.

"I have heard many stories of this place, but never have I been in here," the nun said to Helen as the girls greeted one another.

Helen simply smiled. "I will have Jane back in the morning." She paused. "Assuming that I can separate them."

"It is a blessing that Jane has found a friend. She doesn't fit in with the other children of the orphanage."

"What happened to her parents?"

"No one knows. They just disappeared one day. Jane's aunt sent her to the orphanage shortly after."

"That's a shame," Helen murmured solemnly.

"Yes, well—she is in the Lord's hands now." The nun smiled before taking her leave.

Disclaimer: Yes, Jane is back. She will make appearances in future chapters. Sorry about the long wait. College is a busy life.


	12. London

A/N: Sorry for the wait. Been out of Wi-Fi reception lately, and had to fight my way through finals at college. Not a pretty sight, for those of you who are wondering.

Spring quickly turned into summer. The Sanctuary had to have air conditioning on full blast as mid-June set in just to keep the rooms cold enough for human occupation. In this time, Tesla had taken off to only God-knows-where, and had not been heard from. Helen had Ashley's studies continued to get her daughter caught up with other children her age.

One such afternoon found Helen in a videoconference with Declan. "I understand that not all heads of houses are happy with my decision," she said through gritted teeth.

"Magnus, some of the heads believe that you no longer have the judgment necessary to run the Sanctuary network. You have been through a lot in the past year."

"That changes nothing, Declan." Helen's voice was snappish, and irritable. She glared at the man on her desktop screen.

He sighed. "All of us remember all too clearly what Ashley has done to the Sanctuary network."

"She doesn't!" She looked up when the door opened to see John standing there. He looked up at her, and noted her thin lips and red cheeks. He had also heard the tone of her voice before he walked in. He strode over to the computer screen.

"Ah, so it is you, Declan, to get Helen all riled up," he said in a somewhat amused tone, though he was nervous to be standing this close to Helen when she was angry.

"Mr. Druitt."

John smiled. "Take my advice, and whatever it is that has Helen angry, drop it before you give her an aneurism, and then I will have to knock down your front door, and make you regret ever having a part of the Sanctuary."

"Right." He looked at Jack the Ripper wearily.

"Now, if you are finished, I really must tutor my daughter."

"There is one more thing, Magnus," Declan announced. He cleared his throat when Helen shot a pointed glare at him. "There have been sightings of a giant colony up in the Scotland highlands."

"Send the files over."

"Already on it."

Helen looked at her other computer screen, as did John. She glanced through the reports. There had already been five confirmed casualties, and many more missing people that have yet to be confirmed. "Dear God. I will get a team prepared immediately."

"Thank you, Magnus." The screen that had Declan's face went black.

She sighed heavily. She was grateful when John gripped her shoulder, yet that simple touch caused a frenzy of once forgotten feelings to surface. "I think that I'm going to need you on this one."

"I would call you foolhardy, if you didn't." They were silent for a long moment, and then John said, "Why not make a family trip out of this? Ashley has not been out of Old City since we found her."

"Who would watch her while we're searching for the giants?"

"Perhaps Kate?"

Helen shook her head. "She's in the Caribbean, looking for a rare octopus."

His eyebrows shot up. "The kraken?"

"It's been taking out more and more fishing boats. Will and Big Guy are our only choices."

"And Mr. Foss?"

"We're going to need him too."

"Then Will it is," John growled.

"Why don't you like him?" Helen shot him an amused glare.

That look still had John wishing that he were any less of a man, and cowering in fear. "I only fear for our daughter's well-being."

Helen did not look convinced, but she did not press the issue. "Right. Well, I will get a plane prepped. Could you brief Henry? And get Ashley ready?"

"Certainly." He bowed his way out of the study.

She leaned back in her chair, feeling drained of all energy. 'Perhaps a family vacation would be a good thing,' she thought. 'Family.' The thought brought a small smile to her lips. Yes, John was becoming a fine father, and Ashley adored her time with him. She seemed to keep the Ripper inside him at bay. She sat back up, and made several phone calls.

Several hours later, and they were getting their luggage onto the private charter that Helen had brought to the Sanctuary. She sat in the cockpit to do the pre-flight check. She smiled when she heard Ashley ask for the ten millionth time where they were going, and why they weren't teleporting, and John struggling to tell her in a patiently calm voice.

The flight to London was long, but entertaining when Ashley would ask a million other questions. Henry had headphones in, and music blasting. On more than one occasion, John offered to cut the wires. Helen smiled when she had told him not to. About half way there, Ashley snuggled close to Will, and fell asleep, and Will joined her soon after with his arm lazily draped across her. John glared back periodically.

"Why didn't you just have me teleport?" he asked when all else was silent.

"Because I want everything to be as normal as possible for Ashley," responded Helen tersely. "And because I do not want her to think that it is ok to use her powers whenever she wants." She glared pointedly at John.

"Is that supposed to be a jest, madam?" He chuckled.

"It just might." She forced a smile before switching to autopilot and leaning back in her seat. She closed her eyes, but remained alert to all activity within the plane.

After the long flight, they landed in one of the private airports that Helen had acquired. She made a call to Declan when the plane was loaded into one of the many warehouses.

"Yes, Declan, we need a car," she said when he answered. She looked down to Ashley tugging on her slacks. She motioned for John to take her away. He did so without incident. "No, we will not be staying in the Sanctuary—I have a few hotel rooms already lined up—Thank you, but I do not think that will be such a good idea." She hung up with a heavy sigh.

"Everything alright, Magnus?" Will asked, noting her haggard expression.

"Yes, fine." She reached for Ashley, and took her out of John's arms. "It was just a long flight."

Will's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you doubting your decision to leave Kate in charge?"

"No, I believe she can handle herself. The Big Guy is with her."

"No offense, Doc, but that spells disaster," Henry yawned. He stretched. "We might have to buy new computers when we get back."

Helen mumbled something about what would he do if he lived before the age of computers. She looked up at the foggy sky, deep in thought. Her thoughts were far from the present. Her breath hitched unconsciously when she felt John stand behind her.

"Mommy?" Ashley touched Helen's cheek. She was frowning when Helen looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetie." She forced a smile as she looked into the eyes of her child.

London. She had not returned to this place since Ashley was under the Cabal's control. She gathered herself when two black SUVs pulled up. She watched Declan get out of one.

He regarded Ashley suspiciously after greeting Helen. "Are you certain that it is safe?"

"I am, Declan." She handed Ashley to John. "Get her in the car, please." She took Declan aside while her team got the luggage in the car, and John got Ashley in place.

"What are you doing bringing such a dangerous abnormal into London without going to the Sanctuary, Magnus?"

"That abnormal is my daughter, Declan," Helen snapped back.

Declan sighed heavily. "I understand that, Magnus."

"I will be arriving at the Sanctuary in a couple of hours." With that, Helen walked away, and got in the driver's seat of the vehicle that Declan had provided her.

"Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ashley." Even as the words came out of her mouth, she wasn't sure she believed them. John stroked her arm lightly, making her jump.

"Hey, Doc, what are the room arrangements going to look like?" Henry asked.

Helen frowned. That had not been on the forefront of her mind. She thought about it as she pulled away, barely noticing Declan standing off to the side. "We'll get three rooms. Are you and Will ok rooming together?" She gazed at Henry through the rearview mirror.

"Uh…yea, if it's cool with him."

"I'm alright with it," said Will, shrugging.

"Good. Ashley and I will share a room, and John has a room to himself."

"Is that necessary, Helen?" His soft voice made her shudder involuntarily. It wasn't a bad shudder; however, it worried her to a degree.

"John, please don't," she begged.

The drive to the hotel was relatively silent, save for Ashley's quiet singing. When they pulled up, hotel personnel were ready to take their bags. Helen handed the keys off for parking and walked up to the front desk while the men watched Ashley.

"Good ev'ning, ma'am," a young man with shaggy brown hair said. He was short, at least shorter than she was with a heavier build. He wasn't fat; he just had a wider frame than most.

"Evening," she replied in a pleasant tone. "I would like three rooms." She leaned in closer to whisper, "One of them a suite." She slipped him her credit card.

"Of course, ma'am. I have some rooms ready on the fifth floor."

"How private are they?"

He glanced up at her nervously. "Very," he stammered.

"Good."

"Here are your keys. Enjoy your stay, ma'am."

"Thank you." She paused as she looked at his nametag. "Vincent." She walked back toward the others, and handed out the keys. "Our rooms are on the fifth floor," she told them.

"They said that our bags will be delivered shortly," informed John.

"Good. Do you gentlemen mind keeping Ashley entertained while I check on things in the Sanctuary?"

"Of course." John inclined his head. "I can show the children the old sights around London."

Helen shot him a suspicious glare before hugging Ashley and walking away.

"So, have any of you been to London for anything but your work?"

"A few times," Henry replied. "The Doc used to take me here to visit Doctor Watson."

"Mommy only ever took me once to meet James!" Ashley pouted, crossing her arms.

John's eyes softened as he messed up his daughter's hair playfully until she batted his hand away. His attention turned to Will. "What about you, William?"

He snapped back to the present. "Huh? What?" His jaw tightened when Ashley giggled.

"Have you ever been to London?"

"Once."

Everyone was silent until John offered to show them around. They followed him, and he picked Ashley up.


	13. Scotland

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Had a tad bit of a block. Anyway, without further ado, here is your chapter.

The Scottish morning air was rich with oxygen. Helen, John, and Henry had been searching the hills for nearly two hours. "Why can't you have The Flash teleport us to the giants?" Henry whined as he threw down his pack.

"Because if we startle the giants, we may put our lives in danger," replied Helen calmly.

"Yeah, but we've been searching for them for a while now."

"I could knock you out, and take you back to the hotel room," John offered.

"And leave you alone with Magnus, I don't think so." Henry shook his head as if what Druitt had suggested was ludicrous, which to him, it was. He looked down at the map in his hands and turned it upside-down, before Helen pointed it out to him. "Oh, yeah…right."

John arched a brow at Helen, sighing heavily as he went ahead a few meters. He stopped at the edge of a crevice. "I don't think that we're going to get much farther on foot."

"Where has your sense of adventure gone to, John?" Helen questioned quirkily as she went to stand beside him. She, too, looked down and saw their dilemma. She looked back at Henry. "I see your point."

"We could still leave him behind."

"No way in Hell Flashy."

"We can't be far," Helen stated as an uncomfortable moment passed between Henry and John. She crouched down and pointed out the human remains to the two men. "The camp must be nearby."

"Plan of attack, Doc?" Henry's face went noticeably paler.

"I was hoping to not resort to violence," Helen snapped back, but not unkindly. She got back to her feet.

"Helen, these _are_ giants we are talking about," retorted John in that strained tone he often got when he felt a fight on the horizon. "They can't be reasoned with like some of the other abnormals you take in."

"For once, I have to agree with him, Doc."

"We should hurry." Helen began the long, treacherous walk down.

John teleported to her side, and grabbed her by the arms before teleporting back to where Henry was standing. He kept a firm grip on Helen's shoulders. "You really should not be making such a dangerous hike down."

"I've done this well over a hundred times, John," Helen snapped impatiently. She tried shaking him off, but to no avail.

"Helen, you have me around now for such things. Do not risk Ashley not growing up with a mother, just as she grew up with a father before." The sadness and regret in his voice, which only Helen heard, made her look up at him, and see that and much more in his eyes. "I am not like you in that I cannot raise her alone."

"Alright. Teleport us down." She adverted her eyes as she felt the familiar jerk that came with teleporting. She was hardly surprised to find Henry standing with them when they rematerialized at the bottom of the crevice.

"Which way now?" John asked.

"We follow the trail of bones," answered Helen. She led them further down the trail with John close behind and Henry loping a few strides behind. She stopped when the ground beneath them rumbled. She exchanged a knowing glance with John.

"Just like old times." A slim smile lit up his face. He looked back when Henry lost his balance and fell to the ground. "Though we never took a liability with us before, so why now, Helen?"

"Henry is a lycanthrope, John."

"HAP, Doc, HAP," Henry corrected as he got back to his feet.

Helen frowned at Henry's name for his own species. "Right." She took a side trail that appeared to be less used. The hike was silent, if it were not for Henry mumbling incoherent words under his breath.

Her fist was suddenly held up, signaling the group to stop. John scooted closer to Helen, and looked down.

A group of five giants all sat in a circle. Their light gray, leathery skin made it harder to see them. They each had a spine with little to no flesh left, which they gnawed on.

Henry's mouth gaped open as he gazed down at the large abnormals. He looked over at Helen, who had an expression of pure awe, while John looked disgusted at the giants chosen meal.

"How are we going to do this, Doc?" Henry asked in a hushed whisper.

"Delicately," replied Helen. She looked over to John, noting his apprehensive stance. She frowned as she looked back to the giants, deep in thought as to how they would handle the situation.

Giants were not known for their intellect amongst the abnormal world. They were considered brutes, and it was not uncommon for a giant to kill off others of its clan just for the sake of a meal. Common food sources included human flesh, as these giants were proving by gnawing on the remains of what must have been a recent kill. It was strange to see the giants not fighting over the horde of food, which could be explained by the massive bone fragments that were found on the hike.

"These ones might be more intelligent than most," commented Helen to her two companions.

"And?" Henry retorted.

"And—I am going to attempt to communicate with them."

"Helen—" John's voice was strained with worry. "These are giants. I will not sit tight, and watch as they toy with you before making you their next meal."

"Yeah—I'm with him," agreed Henry quickly.

"Which is precisely why I brought the two of you."

"We've found the campout. Lets let the London Sanctuary know, so that _they_ can be the ones to take out the trash."

"It may be too late, if we turn back now. I will not risk the idea of more innocent lives taken." With that, Helen began her descent to the giants' lair.

Both John and Henry watched, apprehensive, from above. John already had his hands resting on the hilts of his two swords. His eyes never left Helen.

"Greetings." Her heart skipped a beat as the giants turned and looked down at her. She felt a lump grow in the back of her throat.

Before she had time to react, the largest one, which also happened to be the closest to her, grabbed her with one hand in a crushing grip, and brought her up to eyelevel. He glared at her with his beady black eyes, sniffed her, and shook her.

She forced herself to keep eye contact with the giant, even though the grip he had on her hurt—a lot. She could feel some ribs crack under the pressure, and she knew full well that walking would be an impossible task for weeks after this. "My—my name is Helen Magnus," she squeaked. "I run a place where you can be safe. You—you want safety, right? You can have it—if you want." Her vision began to blur the longer she tried talking.

John had seen enough. He forced his eyes shut, before teleporting down into the middle of the giants, drawing his swords, and cutting the stomach of the giant who had Helen. He looked up to see the giant howling in pain. He teleported again just in time to avoid the abnormals swipe. He rematerialized next to Helen, who had landed on her feet, but fell under the snapping pressure of both legs breaking. He teleported them both back to where Henry had been waiting, teleported again, but this time back in the main square of London.

"Doc!" Henry cried when he saw Helen on the ground, barely conscious.

"Helen—!" John finally took the time to scoop her into his arms. He also noticed that sometime during one of his jumps, he must have lost both swords. He pushed that worry to the back of his mind as he looked down into Helen's face. "How bad?"

"Arg! I—ribs—legs—probably broken," Helen panted. "Need to—giants—Sanctuary—can't leave 'em."

"Mr. Foss, call London General to let them know of our imminent arrival—then call the Sanctuary to let them know of the situation," John ordered quickly before teleporting away with Helen.

They reappeared in the back of the hospital, and John carried Helen as fast as he could to the entrance.

"John—really, I can take care of this myself," she groaned as he walked into the sliding glass doors.

"Helen—you are injured quite horrifically. You need to see a proper doctor."

"I'm much more proper than any of these buffoons."

"Of course you are, but I do believe that they are qualified to do this one little thing." He stopped at the front counter. "She is a clumsy one, and took a fall down her mother's staircase," he told a blonde receptionist.

"Name?"

John stared her down with a very dark, intimidating expression. "She's got several broken bones, and all you are worried about is a name?"

"John—that's quite enough," Helen snapped impatiently. "Arg—Magnus. Helen Magnus."

"Alright. What's the ailment today, ma'am?"

"She's got broken bones! Now are you going to do something about it, or do I have to bring this entire facility to its knees?" John roared loud enough to gain a number of stares from other waiting patients.

"Alright. Calm down, sir."

"Calm down?"

"John—please," Helen pleaded weakly. She reached up to caress his cheek for a brief moment before replacing her hand to her injured ribs.

"Room 312 is open. Just down the hall—third on the right." The receptionist watched warily as John took Helen to the designated room.

A/N: Sorry there was no Ashley, but there was a moment between Helen and John.


	14. Panic

John stood back, and watched as a young doctor set both of Helen's legs. The groans issued from his ex-fiancé made him wince. He fought against the urge to kill the doctor for causing Helen such pain, but he knew that it had to happen. He stood, with his back to the wall, even after the doctor set the casts and left.

"John—" She glanced over at him, her eyes drooping from the morphine she was receiving through the IV.

He stepped forward. "It appears that they will keep you here, at least for a while."

"I do want you to take me home."

"I can't do that, Helen. We do not have anyone in your staff who are adequate doctors." He gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand as he looked deep into her blue eyes.

"John—" Her eyes closed, and sleep overtook her.

His eyes softened as he watched her sleep. He retreated deep into the depths of his mind to a time when he would spend hours watching Helen sleep. It was a few moments before he pulled himself back into the present. He stole himself away from the only woman he would ever love, and teleported into his hotel room.

He walked across the room to his door, and stopped there for a few moments before gathering the courage to go find his daughter. He did not have to go far, as she was standing in the hall, arguing with Henry.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Ashley demanded, stomping her foot.

"I don't—" Henry jumped back a few feet. "Druitt!"

"Daddy!" The young child leapt into her father. When he lifted her up, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

John glanced up at Henry. "Where is old William?"

"Uh—he went to take a shower," answered Henry.

"Tell him what happened when he gets out."

"Daddy, where's Mommy?"

"I'll take you to her." He closed his eyes, and teleported back to the hospital.

"Daddy?" Ashley squeaked when they rematerialized in the empty corridor behind Helen's room.

"Ashley, your mother was hurt while we were out," John explained slowly. "She's probably resting, so I want you to be on your best behavior."

She pushed against her father, and fell back when he lost his grip. She landed on her feet, winced in pain, and ran toward the closest room. "Mommy!" she cried when she saw Helen asleep on the hospital bed, both legs in casts.

Helen's eyes snapped open at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Ashley?" She looked down to see her young daughter. She wrapped her arms around the child when she clambered onto the bed with her.

"Helen?" John stopped at the doorway. He seemed unsure if it would be appropriate to enter the room.

She looked up at him. Her face remained blank, though her eyes told John all he needed to know about her condition. "I'll be alright, John." Her voice was strained with weariness. She looked down at her left hand to see that she had been connected to an IV, and the doctors probably had her on morphine (at least that was her most educated guess) based off how lucid her thoughts were. She absentmindedly scratched her daughter's scalp, lightly.

John stood there, keeping watch like a sentry. He barely stirred when he heard Will and Henry arguing behind him as they approached.

"Why'd you let her do that?" Will demanded. "You should have forced her to keep back."

"Will, dude, you know as well as I do that she doesn't listen to any of us," replied Henry in an irritable tone. "Well—maybe The Flash," he amended as he came up behind John.

"_The Flash_?" Will's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? You refer to Druitt as _The Flash_?"

"Hey—I can think of worse things to call crazy there." Henry waved an arm at John as if to prove a point.

John turned around to face them when he noticed that Helen had lost consciousness, and Ashley had fallen asleep too. "I suggest that you keep your voices down, Mr. Foss, Mr. Zimmerman." He towered over them in a threatening manner.

"What happened? Henry only told me that something went wrong with the mission."

"Helen broke both legs, and I suspect some ribs as well," informed John. "She was quite insistent on working things out with words rather than taking care of the problem in the best way possible."

"And you didn't stop her?"

"Believe me, I would have. She ran off before I could do anything, and _if_ I had gotten her away in time, it could have endangered the entire mission."

Will released a long breath that he had been holding. He focused heavily on calming his nerves. "What about Ashley? How's she taking all this?"

"She's curled up next to Helen now, sleeping."

"YOU!" screeched a familiar female voice.

Everyone on that floor of the hospital turned to look at the crazed woman. Will turned around to face the mother of the boy from the pool. Henry jumped back behind John. Helen and Ashley both jumped awake. Helen automatically held Ashley to her in a bone crushing hold.

"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT MONSTER?"

"Do we know you?" John asked, stepping forward to shield Will and Henry. He loomed over the woman.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"Ma'am, I'm going to ask that you be quiet," said a security guard softly as he came forward with his hand on the holster holding his pistol.

"THAT MAN"S CHILD IS THE REASON MY LITTLE NIAMSON IS IN SURGERY!" The woman pointed her finger at Will.

"Surely you must be mistaken," said John. "The accused has no children."

The woman then locked eyes with Ashley. "THAT GIRL IS A MONSTER! SHE HURT MY POOR SON!"

Ashley buried her face in the crook of Helen's neck. "Mommy, she scares me," she cried shakily.

"It's alright, Ashley," Helen whispered.

"That girl happens to be _my_ daughter." John's expression darkened with rage. "If you've got a problem, you'd best explain it to me, otherwise, I heavily suggest that you focus on your own child's well-being."

The woman looked offended by John's words. She marched away, shoving past the security guard on her way.

"Are you alright, sir?" the guard asked John.

"I am quite alright. I suggest that you keep an eye on that woman." John turned his attention to Will as soon as the security guard walked away. "Now, I am interested in hearing what that was all about."

"As am I," added Helen.

Will's face went from pale to sickly white. He looked from John, to Helen and Ashley, and back to John before walking into the room and sitting next to Helen. Henry and John followed him.

"Alright—after you guys left for Scotland, I took Ashley to the pool to try and teach her how to swim," he explained slowly. "Needless to say, it did not go well. I let her play for a while on the shallow end. Then the woman's son went over, and teased Ashley. I tried to stop it, but he just held her under the water until her survival instinct kicked in, and she went super abnormal on him." He looked up when he finished recounting the details.

John looked torn between staying and leaving to have a "word" with the boy's mother. Henry appeared to be struggling to control himself, and stop from shifting. Ashley had renewed terror in her amber eyes. Her claws were half extended. Helen held Ashley still closer.

"It's alright, Ashley," she whispered soothingly. "You're not in trouble."

"But I did something bad."

"No one here blames you. You had every right to be terrified."

A/N: Sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the rest. I typed it while on painkillers. Thank you to all my faithful reviewers. You have all made me more willing to get these chapters out there. I've got most of the main plot planned. If you want to see certain abnormals, please let me know, so that I can do research.


	15. Mysterious Letter

Chapter 15:

Several weeks came and went while Helen recovered. John took everyone back to the Vancouver Sanctuary after a week of everyone being in the hospital via teleporting. With Ashley's help, he kept Helen contained to her bed.

After days of arguing with John, Helen was finally allowed to sit at her desk. She was out of the leg casts; however, she had to use a cane to get around on her own. She often found herself escorted either by John, the Big Guy, or Tesla when he was around. The paperwork had piled up on her desk while she was forced to recover, despite Will's attempts at keeping up with it.

She glanced up as the door to her office opened. Her eyes narrowed at the intruder.

"Your zoo is a madhouse!" exclaimed Tesla as he waved a bottle of **brand** wine in the air.

"You know where the front door is, Nikola," Helen replied tersely without looking up. She scribbled her signature on the month's power bill, which was considerably high.

"And leave you alone to old Johnny boy's mercy? I don't think so!" He looked rather disgusted at the thought of leaving Helen and John in the same house.

"If you are worried about the security threat posed by John, you needn't. The EM field is active 24/7. Ashley seems to be keeping him stable. If you need to go on one of your mad science expeditions, you are free to leave whenever you like."

"Listen to yourself, Helen. You've grown irritable in your old age."

"And you've grown more irresponsible."

"Hey—I merely enjoy life. Oh, and you can tell your hirsute friend that his tea is horrible." With that, he walked out the door.

Helen released a heavy sigh as she rubbed her temples. She winced as she leaned over her desk. Her break was short-lived when the door opened for a second time.

Big Guy walked up to her desk, carrying a brown package and several letters. "Mail call," he grunted, setting the day's mail on Helen's desk.

"Oh, that must be the package I ordered." Helen smiled weakly as she opened the parcel to reveal a new laptop.

"Don't let Kate have that one."

Her smile widened before she forced a sour frown. "Yes, I think that I learned my lesson when she fried the last one."

"You got a letter from False Creek Elementary."

She quickly sobered up before opening the letter. She looked up at the Big Guy. "Do you think that Ashley is ready for public school?" Even as she asked, she sounded uncertain.

"She's smart," he grunted.

"There's no doubt about that." Helen smirked as she thought of her daughter's intelligence. "But what about the fact that she's an abnormal?"

"She seems to have moderate control, if that is what you are worried about."

Helen looked up at her manservant, searching for any sign that he was lying to her. Of course, she had noticed considerable improvement in Ashley's ability to retain control of the super abnormal abilities that the Cabal had packaged in her. _So why am I doubting that she's ready_?

"The choice is yours, Magnus." He grunted a couple times. "Have you taken your painkillers?"

"I'm perfectly fine—for the moment, at least." She forced a weak smile. "Thank you. You may leave now." She watched as he walked out of her office and closed the door. Her thoughts turned to the possibility of enrolling Ashley into False Creek Elementary. She had heard positive things about the school in reports, but she had doubts as to whether or not the school would be able to handle an abnormal such as Ashley.

After a short while, she placed the paperwork in a neat pile at the corner of her desk, and focused on other paperwork that had been put off while she was recovering from the giants in Scotland. She worked in silence through most of the afternoon, and well into the evening before being disturbed again. The door opened without the traditional knock.

She looked up to see John carrying a tray of food. After a closer look, she identified the food as a steak with fettuccine and a small salad on the side. Her eyebrows shot up, despite her heart fluttering.

"I thought you should eat," John explained as he took the paperwork away, and set the tray down on her desk. He glanced down at the folder with False Creek Elementary written on it. "Are you registering Ashley in school?" He looked her directly in the eye.

"I am considering it."

"Eat, Helen." He turned his back to her, pretending to thumb through the book spines on the shelf.

She cut a piece of the steak, and cautiously took a bite. Her face lit up as she focused on the juices and flavor of the meat.

"Mr. Zimmerman cooked for you this evening."

She continued eating in silence, all the while keeping her eyes on John. Every so often, her gaze drifted to the stack of papers from False Creek Elementary.

The silence was interrupted when the TARDIS noise played. Helen quickly reached for her cell phone. "This is Helen Magnus."

"Ah, Ms. Magnus, I'm so glad that I got a hold of you," said a relieved sounding man quickly.

"Who is this?" There was a hint of suspicion in her voice that she could not hide.

"Dirk Ackerman."

"How can I help you, Mr. Ackerman?" Helen reached in her desk for a spare sheet of paper and pen.

"Well—you are very renown for your work. There was a presentation on some of the today's most controversial scientific discoveries scheduled for Bellingham, Washington tomorrow evening at 6 at Fairhaven Village Inn. Would you be interested?"

"That all depends on what sort of things I would be talking about."

"Your work. Everyone who will attend is very well knowledgeable of what you research."

Her mind raced as she registered that a gentleman who she knew nothing about knew about her work at the Sanctuary. She exchanged a worried glance with John, and based on his facial expression, she concluded that he heard every word of what was exchanged over the phone.

"Ms. Magnus?"

His voice startled her, and she took a moment to compose herself. "I will get a presentation put together, and be there tomorrow."

"Great!—Glad to hear it, Ms. Magnus. I look forward to hearing what you have to say." With that, he hung up on her.

"Helen—I do not believe it is a good idea," said John.

"Which is precisely why I am going to ask that you accompany me," replied Helen. She sent off a quick text message.

"What about Ashley?"

"Will can look after her while we're away."

John clenched his teeth. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." A tense pause built up in the room. Helen forced herself to her feet, grabbed her cane, and walked past John. "John—would you help me to my room?"

He hurried to her side, and supported her weight. The walk to her bedroom was silent. John dutifully opened the door, and proceeded to help Helen get undressed, into a silk nightgown, and into the four-poster bed set in the middle of the room. He was tense during the duration of helping her out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable for bed.

"My laptop is on that desk there—would you be so kind to get it for me?"

"It would do you good to get some rest." His voice was firm with determination to keep Helen from doing as little as possible.

"John—I have a presentation to put together." She sounded impatient, similar to a parent being cross with a child. "You should be happy that I compromised to getting into bed."

"You should be resting."

"This is resting."

"For you, perhaps. But the doctor ordered that you stay off your feet, and away from work."

"John—I want to find out how these people know about me and my work."

"It is likely a trap."

"I will have you with me."

"That is not the point."

"Just get me my laptop, John!" Helen, for the first time, sounded on the edge of anger. Her eyes flashed, and her expression brought them both back to when Helen was first forced to shoot John back in 1888.

"As the lady wishes." He walked over to the desk, and brought the laptop to Helen. He leaned in, and lightly brushed his lips over her forehead, whispering, "I will be right outside, should you need anything." He walked away before Helen could do anything.

She was left there, her heart fluttering. The place where John's lips had brushed her skin burned in a way that hadn't happened in over a hundred years. Several minutes went by before she could compose herself. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, and got to work.

Will was walking down the corridor the following morning when he got a call on his cell phone. Without looking at the caller id, he answered it. "This is Zimmerman."

"Will, could I see you in my office?" Helen asked immediately.

"Yea—I'll be right there." He hung up, turned around, and rushed to Helen's office.

Several minutes later, he knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He slid inside. Helen was sitting at her desk, filling out yet more paperwork. The stack was considerably shorter than it had been the morning before when Will had come by to see if he could get the funds to install a better forensics lab. "What did you need?" He walked up to the desk, where he stood, waiting for directions.

"I have a conference that I have to leave for shortly. I was wondering if you were up to watch over Ashley."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Yea—sure. But shouldn't you be in bed resting?"

"I am fine, Will," replied Helen with forced patience.

Will eyed her carefully. He crossed his arms over his chest as he observed her. "So—where are you going?"

"Bellingham."

"Uh huh…and how are you getting there?"

"John is teleporting me."

"Magnus, you should have Big Guy drive you."

"I am quite capable of taking care of myself, Will."

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but last time you were with Druitt, you broke your legs and five ribs."

"John had nothing to do with that. I was irresponsible in my dealing with the giants."

"Could you at least take the Big Guy with you?"

"And what good will that do if John decides to lose control?" Helen snapped. "If he wanted to, John could kill me at any time he wanted."

"Just be careful, Magnus."

"Always am." She grinned at him. "Now, I am sure that you have other duties to attend to."

"Yeah—I'll just—get going now." He pointed behind him at the door as he backed out of the room.

He walked down the hall to the elevator. He nearly jumped back when he saw Big Guy step out.

"Henry wants to see you in his lab," Big Guy told him.

"Ok. Oh, could you keep an eye on Magnus?" He stepped inside the elevator.

Big Guy turned around and stopped the elevator from closing. "Is something wrong?"

Will blinked, slightly stunned by Big Guy's forwardness. "No—not really. I'm just—I'm just worried about her."

"Magnus knows what she's doing."

"I'm not so sure." Will watched as Big Guy walked down the hall and the elevator door closed.

After going to help Henry with a tiresome middle-aged woman, who insisted that Henry had wronged her by hacking into her computer, he walked in the direction of his private room. As he rounded the final corner, he bumped directly into Kate. He put his hand over his chin, where she had head butted him. "UGH!" he grunted.

"OW! Oh, damn it, Will!" groaned Kate as she rubbed her forehead. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Next time I might just take you down." She looked up at him for the first time. "Hey, did you just come from Hank's lab?"

"Henry, you mean? Yeah, why?"

"Did he lay into that crazy old woman?" Kate sounded substantially interested.

"No. And she wasn't crazy. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Whatever you say, Will." Kate shrugged. She waved as she walked past him.

He watched her leave before continuing to his room. A single look at his bed was all it took him to collapse in the soft mattress. He groaned when his face hit the pillow. Very quickly after that, however, he lost consciousness.

The squeal of Ashley woke him some time later in the afternoon. He rolled over, opened his eyes, and still bleary-eyed, watched as Ashley jumped around his room. _Probably Druitt's idea of a joke_, he thought with a large dose of misery. He wiped away any sign of being exhausted, and quickly jumped to his feet. "Ashley, please stop jumping around in my room!"

She stopped for a second to look at him. "But Daddy said that I could," she whined, batting her blue eyes at him, before proceeding to jump around and squeal.

Will's jaw dropped open slightly. Did he hear her correctly? He must have because the next thing he knew, Ashley was on his bed, bouncing up and down on his mattress. He composed himself before saying, "If you don't start behaving now, I won't take you to the park." He crossed his arms over his chest, and did his best to give her a stern look.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Park! Park! Park!" Ashley squealed. She had stopped jumping around, which Will took as a good sign.

He still had to wonder, though, if her parents had given her explicative amounts of sugar before setting her loose on him. "You have to behave, and do everything I tell you to though," he warned in a serious tone.

"Scouts honor!" She held up the crossed fingers of her left hand. Her chest was puffed out proudly.

"Uh huh," he muttered under his breath. "Well—before we leave, you need a coat and your shoes on."

Before he could finish, Ashley had zipped out of the room as fast as her short legs could carry her. He ran his hand through his curly hair as he walked to his closet to get his own jacket. When he opened his door, Ashley was already waiting for him.

He watched as she played on the swing set. That seemed to be all she wanted to do ever since they got to the park, and she was determined to swing without his help. A short woman with dark hair from across the park caught his attention. She seemed odd with her cloak, and hood covering most of her face. It seemed as though she were staring at him.

Just as it was starting to get dark, and Will struggled to get Ashley to want to go back to the Sanctuary, the mysterious looking woman slipped into the shadows, and appeared next to him.

"You work for Magnus, boy?" her voice was deep for her size. She only stood to Will's belly button.

"Who are you?"

"Give this letter to your boss." She handed him an envelope with 'Helen Magnus' written on it in an elegant handwriting that seemed alien to him.

He took the envelope, and when he blinked, the woman was gone again. He shook the thoughts he had from his head, and lifted Ashley up automatically.

A/N: Longer than average, I know. I had a lot of content to cover in this one chapter.


	16. Job Interview

A/N: A more Henry-centric chapter. I apologize for making him a more background character in this story, but he will have a bigger part in the chapters to come. So will Kate.

Helen and John got back to the Sanctuary late that night. John left her standing on the front porch before teleporting away again. Helen stood there, looking at where he had just been, dumbfounded at his odd mannerism. Back in the 1880s, she would have thought nothing of it, but now, it left her with a sense of dread. Would she wake up to find more bodies with unsolved murders? The thoughts sent shivers down her spine.

She gathered her turbulent thoughts before pushing the front door open. Everything was as she left it, much to her relief. She walked down the hall to the elevator, which she took to the residential level. As the elevator began its slow ascent, she thought over the day. It was more normal than most. She gave a presentation on humanoid evolution. John had brought her to a Chinese restaurant that he had heard about for dinner before bringing her back to the Sanctuary.

She walked to Ashley's door, quietly opened it, and looked in to see her daughter sleeping with her blanket on the floor. Chuckling softly to herself, she walked across the room, and tucked the child in properly. She leaned in to kiss Ashley's forehead before leaving the room.

She nearly bumped into Will. "You're up late, William," she said tersely.

"Yeah—couldn't sleep I guess. There are odd noises coming from Henry's room." He scratched the back of his head when Helen smiled knowingly.

"I am sure that there is nothing to worry about. Henry is a big boy, and can take care of himself."

"Debatable," Will grumbled under his breath.

"I assume that everything at the Sanctuary was fine while I was away."

"Uh—yeah. Nothing out of the ordinary." He swallowed a hard lump in his throat when Helen gave him a stern look. "Um—I mean, it was quiet. I took Ashley to the park, so that she could get rid of some of that extra energy she had. And someone left a message for you." He reached into his pocket, where he had placed the folded envelope, and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Will."

"Do you know what it is about?"

"I have my suspicions."

"Care to share with the class?"

Helen smiled at the old joke. "Not tonight, Will. I do find myself quite exhausted."

"Uh—I should let you rest then. Hey—did Druitt come in with you?"

"No. Why?"

"It's nothing. I just wanted to ask him if he was the one to give Ashley sugar."

"Oh, you noticed?" Helen cracked a smile.

"That's an understatement…" Will walked back to his room.

The following morning, Henry woke up to find a note posted on his door from Helen to go to her office. As soon as he showered and got dressed, he made his way to her office, whistling "Spiderman's Theme" as he went. He knocked on the door to Helen's office.

"Come in," he heard.

He opened the door and slid in. He found Helen at her usual morning post of filling out unfinished paperwork, or possibly writing out a report—something of that nature. "You wanted to see me, Doc?"

"Yes. Sit down, please."

He quickly sat across from her. "So—what is it? Do I get to go into the field again?"

"Sort of. I need someone at False Creek Elementary that I can trust."

"Ok, but would you mind telling me what all this is about?"

"I am enrolling Ashley into school, and because of her sometimes unstable nature, I need someone there who can deal with a situation should anything happen."

"Why not send Will?"

"I thought of that, but he just got a call from a friend in Texas who needs his help with a case, and because I believe that it has to do with an abnormal crime lord, I sent him on an early morning flight. I do not expect him back for at least three weeks, which is after this job closes."

"Ok. What do I have to do?"

"Teach a class of third graders. It is only temporary while the teacher is on maternity leave."

"Wait—third graders? That's Ashley's grade, right?"

"She'll actually be in the second grade."

"Ok. What's my next step?"

"Here's your application and résumé. I have already sent them off, and they would like to interview you at 3:30 today."

"And what if I can't pull this off, Doc? I'm not exactly the most qualified guy to teach a bunch of Elementary kids."

"According to your history, you are. And you will be doing this only until their winter break."

"Why couldn't you have me do something like teach computers?"

Helen forced a smile. "Henry, you would teach these children things that would have your skills questioned by the administration."

"What if they notice how Ashley acts around me? I doubt she would conform to the normal student-teacher relationship."

"You are her uncle, who moved up here with her because you couldn't stand the thought of being away from her."

"Wait—who's brother am I going to have to pretend to be?" He appeared to be a bit panicked.

"My younger brother."

"And what if they ask about last names? Foss and Magnus are not exactly what two siblings last names would be."

"I'm impressed, Henry. You've thought about just about everything that could go wrong in my little scheme."

"Thank you." Henry did that little smile of his when he knew he was right.

"As for the differences in last name, we are half-siblings. My father died in a hunting accident when I was little, our mother remarried, and had you."

"That is so not original," Henry grumbled.

"Pardon?"

"But it will work nicely!" he amended quickly.

"I am glad to hear that. Oh, and here are the directions to the school. You'd better not drive that bloody van either. It will look bad."

"Alright. I should finish getting ready then. Gotta shave the beard and all." He ran his fingers through the thick hair growing on his face. He got up, grabbed his paperwork, and walked out of the office.

On his way back to his room, he nearly bumped into Kate. "Has it ever occurred to you to watch where you're going?" he snapped before he was fully aware of who it was.

"Jeeze, Hank. I thought last night would loosen you up a bit, but I see even a little fun can't cure that stick up your ass," replied Kate sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry Kate." He scratched the back of his neck. "Hey—weren't you supposed to check on a lead about the world-walker in Washington with the Big Guy?"

"Magnus has one of her other associates there. What are you doing?"

"The Doc wants me to work undercover at Ashley's school as a teacher."

"Wow—good luck with that, Hank. Elementary kids make Magnus Jr. look like a walk in the park."

Henry suddenly went pale at the idea of someone being harder to handle than Ashley. "The Doc owes me for this one—big time."

Kate shrugged. "I'm sure Magnus feels like this'll build character for you."

"Then why doesn't she send you? You could use some serious character building."

"But I would shoot the little shits before they even opened their mouths."

"Oh yeah. I forgot. You're the shoot first, ask questions later type."

"It's the reason I survived this long, Hank. See you later—if the little brats don't kill you first." Kate walked down the hall past him.

Henry walked back to his room. Everything was a disaster. His bed was scattered all over the floor, as were his clothes. He went about to clean up and reorganize his belongings. When he was finished, he looked in his closet for more appropriate attire for a job interview. He found a suit that Magnus had bought him several years ago. It was also the one that he wore to Ashley's funeral. The memories of that day made him frown. He put the thoughts to the back of his mind before getting dressed. Satisfied that it still fit him, he left his room.

He arrived at the school fifteen minutes early, thanks to Big Guy's driving. As he walked through the corridors to the main office, he grumbled something about never again letting Big Guy borrow his copy of 'Burnout Revenge'. He stopped outside the office, adjusted his tie, and walked in with false confidence. He forced a smile at the lady sitting at the front desk, who returned the gesture.

"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" she asked.

"I'm here for an interview," replied Henry.

"Name?"

"Henry Foss."

He waited while she typed something into her computer. His eyebrows shot up when he got a close look at the machinery. _So archaic_, he thought.

"If you'll just have a seat over there, Ms. Smith will be with you shortly."

"Right—thank you." Henry nearly tripped over his feet as he backed up to a rather short chair. As he waited for Ms. Smith to come for him, he twiddled his thumbs. It wasn't long before a woman with slicked back blonde hair called him into her office. She was short and well fed. Henry followed her into her office. "Ms. Smith?"

"Yes," she replied tersely. "And you must be Henry Foss. Tell me, why do you want to work here?"

Henry stared at her for a long moment. "Why I want to work here—right. I believe that children are the foundation to our future…as a community, and a nation. This school is also close to where I live."

"Right. Why did you move here?"

"Well—you see, my sister and her daughter moved here not too long ago, and they're all I have left, so I followed along."

"So you're not independent, despite being nearly 30?"

"No—no, that's not it at all! I just want to look out for my sister's well-being."

"It says in your résumé that you worked at a school in London recently."

"Yes. That's where my sister and I moved from."

"Well—I can tell you that the school systems over here are very different from some school in London."

"That is perfectly fine by me."

"Is it?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is."

"Well—you might have some potential after all. The first day of school is September 1st. Show up, or I will give the job to someone else."

"Thank you so much, Ms. Smith!" Henry exclaimed with false enthusiasm. "Now—where will my room be?"

"You will take Mrs. Bekmambetov's room. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a lot of work to do, Mr. Foss."

Henry nodded quickly, and could not get out of that office fast enough. As soon as he was out of the building, he took out his cell phone to call Helen.

"This is Magnus."

"Doc! Hey—I got the job!"

"That's great, Henry!"

"Yeah—though, I have to speak with you when I get back to the Sanctuary."

"Alright. I'll wait for you to get back."

He waited while Big Guy brought the car around. As he slid into the passenger seat, he turned the radio to a classic rock station.

"Why do you listen to this crap?" Big Guy grunted.

"It isn't crap!" replied Henry defensively. "This is the classics, man." He looked up when the Big Guy grunted. "Hey, at least I don't have Kate's taste in music!"

"Fair enough. How did your interview go?"

"Oh, real great, if you take into consideration that the principal is a real bitch!"

"That good, huh?"

"I'll let you wait for all the juicy details until I talk with Magnus."

"Oh, this should be good."

They arrived at the Sanctuary minutes later. Henry wasted no time in walking to Helen's office, where he found her reading a book. "Oh—I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

Helen looked up from her book, and smiled. "Nonsense. What were you so eager to talk to me about earlier over the phone."

"Uh—it's that principal at the school you're sending Ashley to."

"What about her?"

"She's a real nasty piece of work. Her report might say otherwise, but she seems like a man-hating feminist who only cares about her job."

"Henry, I'm surprised at you," Helen gasped, feigning shock. "I thought I taught you better than to judge others. Especially someone who is going to be your boss for the next few months."

"Yeah—well, I'm more concerned for Ashley's well-being. I'm not going to allow some know-it-all bitch ruin Ashley's life…no matter how much of a monster she can be at times."

"Henry, I am sure that everything will be fine. Now, I suggest that you get ready for this evening. We are having guests later tonight."

"What sort of guests?" Henry asked cautiously.

"The sort that it would be a good idea to dress nicely. I had John go out to pick out a suit for you. He should be back any moment."

"Wait—are you saying that we're having a party?" He gaped at his boss.

"And if we are?"

"What about the abnormals?"

"Proper arrangements are being met. Kate is taking care of them. I am sure that she wouldn't mind some help dealing with some of the—less cooperative guests."

"Right—I'll be leaving now."

"Mom, why do I have to put on a dress?" Ashley pouted.

"Because, sweetie, Mummy is having some dinner guests over, and we have to look nice." Helen continued to struggle to get Ashley to put on the lavender dress that John had brought home earlier that evening.

"Why though?"

"Henry got hired as a teacher at your school. We are celebrating his success. I've also got a surprise for you, but only if you get into this dress your father went out of his way and bought for you."

That got Ashley into her dress. She smiled sweetly at her mother. "Now can I see this surprise?"

"In a bit, Ashley."

"Helen. The guests are here." John stood at the open doorway, dressed in a pinstripe suit with a top hat and cane.

She looked up at him, and nearly lost all breath in her lungs. Her entire world stopped as she looked into his light blue eyes. They were not the eyes that she had fallen in love with over a century ago, but they had regained some of their light. She forced herself to look away, and she pretended to finish getting Ashley ready. "Alright. Could you take Ashley, so I can get ready myself?" Her words were stiff. She stood up, and handed her daughter off before walking briskly down the hall to her room.

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged from her room, wearing a small black dress that she had bought for herself on one of her summer trips to her villa in Italy two years back. She found herself surprised that she still fit in it because, even though it did not show, she had put on some weight since dealing with the Cabal situation nearly a year before. She found John waiting for her at the head of the staircase that led down to the main hall, where the party was to be held.

"I see that the years have done nothing to your loveliness," John murmured in her ear as they descended the stairs together.

The words caused Helen to blush lightly and her heart to flutter wildly. "John, you really should focus on behaving yourself," she snapped.

They went silent again as they walked into the party. Many guests had already filled the room. Helen shot a sudden glare at John. "Where's Ashley?" she hissed.

"I left her in Kate's care."

Her eyes widened fearfully: not that she did not Kate with an abnormal, but she was definitely useless when it came to children, especially abnormal children. She cornered Henry first chance she got.

"Hey Doc, what's up?" he sounded oddly cheerful.

"Is the EM field up?" Helen asked in a low whisper.

"Up and fully functional," he reported. "Why?"

"Have you seen Ashley?"

"Yeah. She's with Kate. I just saw them by the punch bowl."

"Ok. Thank you, Henry." Helen smiled as she walked away to be next to her daughter. She grunted softly as a small girl with blonde hair collided with her. "I hope you are behaving yourself, Ashley."

"I am!" she announced proudly.

"Don't worry, Magnus," said Kate as she came up behind Ashley. "She's being a model citizen."

"I'm glad to hear that, Kate. Could you excuse us? I do believe that I owe Ashley a surprise."

"Yes! You promised!"

"Alright, but do you really want Magnus Jr. getting all hyper at one of these gatherings?" Kate said as she walked away with her hands up in the air.

Helen smirked as she watched Kate walk toward Henry. "This way, Ashley." She led her daughter through the now crowded chamber to a small corner where Jane was waiting with a rather discontent looking Declan.

"Jane!" Ashley squealed, earning several disapproving stares from some of the guests. She ran up to her friend, and collided full force with the other girl, but caught both of them before they could tumble over.

"Magnus, can I have a word with you—in private?" Declan asked in a hushed whisper.

"Certainly. Girls, behave yourselves."

"We will," they both chimed simultaneously.

Helen followed Declan into a secluded corner, where they could avoid any unwanted attention. "What is it that you want to discuss?"

"Are you sure that it's wise letting Ashley mingle with a young child, who has no way of defending herself in the event that Ashley reveals her true nature?"

"I assure you that I have been taking precautionary measures to ensure that doesn't happen," replied Helen in a very crisp tone.

"But what if it does? Magnus, I understand that you love this girl just as you loved the Ashley we are all familiar with, but the Cabal altered her. She's a powerful abnormal, and unchecked, she could become very dangerous—even for you."

"I have her on a similar medication I had Tesla on to manage the vampiric condition they both share."

"I just hope that it's enough."

"Is that all, Declan?"

"It is, Magnus."

A/N: Long update time. Started a new job, so I sadly won't have as much time to work on this. Still got quite a few chapters left, and there might be a sequel. That all depends on the response at the end, and how I'm feeling. If there is one, however, I will be taking some time off. Hope you guys are all looking forward to the continuation of the third season as much as I am.


	17. First Day of School

A/N: I am really sorry for how long it took me to get this out. Spring quarter was a tad chaotic, but it was well worth it.

Helen breathed in deep the chilly morning air. Autumn was definitely on the way. She stood alone atop her favorite part of her roof, overlooking New City with a sense of foreboding. It was Ashley's first day of school, and she wondered if she had made the right choice of registering her daughter. She closed her eyes. Ashley was an abnormal: a dangerous one if not watched properly. She did not know fully how to control Ashley's vampiric tendencies, and then there was the teleportation problem. But Henry will be with her, she reasoned before opening her eyes. The sun's rays were just barely touching the outline of New City then.

She stole herself away from the edge of her roof to go inside. As she strolled through the silent halls of her Sanctuary, she thought over all that had happened the past couple years. She had lost her daughter, grieved and accepted that she was gone for good, and then John strolled in one day to tell her that he had found a super abnormal left over from the Cabal experiments, and that abnormal had just happened to be her formerly dead daughter. Over the last few months, she had worked tirelessly to figure out how to help Ashley keep control over what the Cabal had done to her—not help Ashley remove it.

She turned a corner to the elevator and took it down to the kitchens. Once there, she went to work to make everyone breakfast.

Will wandered in at about 7:30, bleary eyed and messy hair. "Huh? Magnus? What are you doing here?" He yawned.

"Fixing breakfast. Why?"

"Oh, nothing—I just never see you down here except to make tea. I didn't even know you could cook." He rubbed his eyes.

"I managed to bake Ashley her cake for her birthday," Helen replied curtly.

"Yeah—with Big Guy's help."

"Will, I lived in a time when it was still the woman's job to do the cooking." She shot him a glare as she flipped a pancake.

"Not from what Jack the Ripper has told me."

"And what did he tell you?"

"Hey—can't break the bro code—even if he's a raving psycho." He raised his hands in defeat.

"Do us both a favor, and wake everyone up—except for Ashley. We don't need a repeat of what happened last week."

"Yeah—I think I'm going to have scars for the rest of my life from that." Will walked away.

It was true; they would all have scars from Ashley's claws. The only ones to successfully wake Ashley without being torn to shreds were Helen and John.

Helen had to wait for several minutes before one by one, the members of her team walked in, still in pajamas and yawning.

"What's up, Doc?" Henry managed through a particularly long yawn. "It's still early for the abnormals feeding."

"I made you all breakfast." Helen shot a dangerous glare at John.

"Crepes?" Big Guy grunted.

"Ashley seems to like them. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need to wake my daughter before she's late for school. And Henry, get ready after you eat." She walked out of the kitchen, leaving everyone to grab his or her own plates.

As she walked down the hall, she retreated deep into the depths of her mind. The Sanctuary had been startling quiet these past few weeks. In fact, it had been a standstill with missions. Sure, she had to send Will and Kate on a couple clean-up jobs when civilians spotted an abnormal on the street, but there had been no crisis to speak of. It was a nice change, but something about it unnerved Helen. She stopped in front of Ashley's door. Gathering her thoughts, and mentally putting them in a storage bin for later access, she opened the door.

Tucked safely away under a pile of blankets was her sleeping daughter; the rise and fall of the blankets bringing comfort to her. She slowly approached the bed, knelt down, and gently shook Ashley's arm. She quickly backed away as Ashley's amber eyes shot open and her claws extended.

"Ashley, it's me!" gasped Helen. It had happened many times now, to the point that she almost anticipated it whenever she had to wake her daughter, but the change in Ashley's appearance was still shocking for her.

The young girl blinked, and her eyes changed back to their normal light blue. Her claws retracted until her nails were a normal length. "Mommy?" she squeaked.

"It's alright," Helen murmured, smiling slightly. "You didn't even get me this time."

"But what if I had?" cried Ashley.

"I heal fast, sweetie. Come on, I made breakfast. It's your first day of school."

"Do I have to go?" whined Ashley.

"Yes, you do." She smiled as her daughter pouted, and she remembered when the Ashley from before started school had whined and complained that entire morning until Helen had picked her up that afternoon, and Helen had to listen as Ashley begged to go back for the sake of a normal life. She rummaged in Ashley's dresser, and pulled out a nicer green t-shirt with the Union Jack printed on it and a pair of black shorts. She absentmindedly helped Ashley dress, laughing when the little girl stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Manners, Ashley," she chided with a smile. "Now, how about some breakfast?"

"Ok!" Ashley smiled brightly as she ran ahead of Helen to the elevator. She waited impatiently for her mother to get in. When Helen rejoined her, she was insistent on pushing the button to take them down, much to Helen's amusement.

When they got to the kitchen, everyone was sitting at the counter, eating. Kate was telling everyone about one of her exploits before joining with the Sanctuary involving the transport of a minotaur under Cabal orders, and how when she delivered the minotaur, it had broken free and wrecked so much havoc that it was up to the Sanctuary to clean it up.

"I remember that—back in '03. How old were you, Kate?" Henry looked above his fork at her; his eyebrows furrowed suspiciously.

"It was right before my twenty-fourth birthday. I had been working for the Cabal for about five years at that point." She shrugged.

"That exploit of yours caused us quite the clean-up job," Big Guy grunted.

"That is quite enough talk about the Cabal for now," said Helen as she entered the room, looking her stern old self.

Will felt relieved to see this side of her again. Before they had found Ashley, Helen had only put that on as a front, and it had become her persona nearly 24/7. The difference now was that it did not feel forced to him. He watched as Ashley sat next to John to eat her breakfast.

"Hey, Doc, what time do I need to be at my new job?" asked Henry.

"In twenty minutes—you'd better leave soon. I'll bring Ashley as soon as she's finished eating. And make sure to act normal, Henry." Helen gave him one last stern glance before he hurried out of the kitchen.

"Mommy, why is Henry working at my school?" Ashley looked up from her halfway finished plate.

"To make sure that you don't accidentally use your powers, sweetie. Now finish your breakfast." She leaned against the fridge, feeling as she always did: apprehensive. Within the Sanctuary, she had complete control over what happened, but outside her facility, there was no telling what could happen. She stiffened when John came to stand beside her.

"You need to relax," he whispered, chuckling somewhat. "I assure you that nothing bad will come of this."

"And what if it does, John?"

"We will cross that bridge, if we come to it, and only then." He left a light kiss on her hair before kissing Ashley good-bye and leaving to do whatever it was he did on his own time. Helen did not want to think about it.

"Mommy, I'm done!" announced Ashley.

Helen forced herself out of her thoughts to give her attention to Ashley. She smiled. "Alright—" She turned to Big Guy, her eyes full of the worry she was holding back.

"Go—I will take care of the dishes and man the fort."

"Thank you, old friend." She squeezed his shoulder appreciatively before following Ashley to the garage. She took the keys to her black Hyundai from the safe and got in the car. Her muscles relaxed as she felt the low hum of the engine. She waited for Ashley to get buckled in the back seat before pulling out of the garage.

"When can I come home?" Ashley asked suddenly just as Helen was pulling into the school.

The question caught Helen off guard. "This afternoon. I will be here to pick you up, but before that, I would like to meet your teacher." She pulled into one of the few empty parking spaces available in the visitors' section. When she got out, she found Ashley already standing there, waiting.

"I hope that you didn't just teleport, young lady," she hissed reproachfully.

"I didn't—you told me that I'm not allowed outside of home." Ashley frowned as she followed her mother.

They walked into the main office, and up to a desk, behind which sat a young woman in her late 20s with short, dark auburn hair, brown eyes, and a slight tan. She looked up at them and smiled pleasantly. "Good morning," she greeted. "May I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Helen Magnus. My daughter Ashley starts school here today, and I was wondering who her teacher is going to be." She forced a pleasant smile as she held onto Ashley's hand.

"One moment." The woman typed in some information into her computer. "She'll be in Ms. Hagen's class. 10B—just down the hall here, tenth door on your left."

"Thank you." Helen led Ashley down the hall until they came across 10B. She opened the door, and was pleased to find that the room was well spaced with tables of four chairs. The decorations were multiplication tables and rules of English grammar. She looked around for a few moments before it became apparent that Ms. Hagen was not around.

"Mommy, I don't like it here," whined Ashley, tugging on Helen's arm.

"You'll be fine, Ashley," murmured Helen as she smoothed down her daughter's blonde hair. "After a while, you'll come to look forward to going to school." She hoped.

"May I help you?" A shorter woman walked in. She was very skinny, but athletic in her build. She had shoulder length, dirty blonde hair that accented her features quite well in Helen's opinion. She wore very little make-up, just black eyeliner to draw attention to her bright green eyes.

"Are you Ms. Hagen?" Helen asked.

"Yes—and you are?" She extended her hand to Helen.

"Helen Magnus." She shook hands with Ms. Hagen. "My daughter Ashley is in your class, and I just wanted to meet you before leaving Ashley in your care. I am sure you understand." She smiled warmly.

"I certainly do—it is so rare to find parents who take care in their children's education." She looked down at Ashley. "Hello, Ashley."

"Hi," she squeaked.

"Is this her first time in a school environment?"

"It is."

"Then I assure you I will do my best to make her feel welcome."

"Thank you—Ashley, run along now while Mummy has a word with your teacher." She watched as Ashley found her seat at the front of the room.

"You came from England?" Ms. Hagen asked.

"A long time ago, yes. Now—I would like to inform you that Ashley can have a tendency to do things that she doesn't mean when she gets angry or frightened. If you notice any of those behaviors, please pull her aside and call me." She handed Ms. Hagen her business card.

"Sanctuary for All?"

"I run a private research facility not far from here. Now, if you can't get in contact with me, a friend of mine, Henry Foss, just got hired as a computers teacher here. Ashley already knows him."

"I will do my best to insure that Ashley never feels threatened in any way, Ms. Magnus."

"Thank you." Helen retreated to give Ashley one final hug good-bye before leaving the school.

"Doc—wait up!" Henry ran after her from the entrance.

"She's in Ms. Hagen's class, Henry. Do look after her for me, will you?"

"Of course." Henry watched as Helen left.

The school day passed excruciatingly slow for Ashley. She sat at her desk, surrounded by other students her age as Ms. Hagen stood at the front of the room, testing them on stuff they should have learned in the previous year, but she wanted to make sure that they had a grasp on. At the beginning of the day, the students went around introducing themselves. The children sitting with Ashley were Cain Wright, Beth Baker, and Darren Albright. For the most part, they whispered amongst themselves, leaving Ashley out of whatever plans they had come up with. At lunch, Ashley sat alone, nibbling on what the school cooks seemed to think was a cheeseburger. It tasted rubbery and the bread was stale. She ate about half of it before sneaking it into the garbage.

When she went out for recess, she sat alone on the swing set, looking up at the clouds, wondering what her parents were up to at the Sanctuary. She missed everyone who lived there.

"Hey, it's that weirdo who's in Ms. Hagen's class with us!" jeered Cain to a group of his friends, who all laughed with them. They were all boys in the same grade as him and Ashley.

"Leave me alone." She got off the swing and started walking away.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Cain grabbed her by the shoulder and roughly pushed her down.

As soon as she hit the ground, she felt her fangs begin to grow and her claws extend. "Stop!" she cried, squeezing her eyes shut so they would not see her for what she really was.

"What's the matter, Blondie? Going to run home and cry to mommy?"

"Get away from me!"

"No!" Cain grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet.

It was too late by then. Ashley lashed out at the boy, cutting him with her claws and teleporting around him to avoid being hit. His friends had all run away by then when they saw what she could do. She did not stop until he was curled up in the fetal position on the ground, all bloodied up.

"Ashley!"

As soon as she heard Henry's voice, she regained control. There was blood on her hands and clothes. Cain was probably going to need stitches; she could tell that much already. She looked up at Henry, tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she cried. She nearly teleported away, but then a crowd had gathered around them.

"What happened?" Ms. Smith demanded. She looked down at Cain and then back up to Ashley. "Mr. Foss, escort that girl to my office while I take care of Cain.

Henry nodded before gently leading Ashley away from the playground. He ran his hand through his hair.

"What's going to happen to me now?" cried Ashley; now well on her way to hysterics.

"I don't know, Ashley," admitted Henry slowly. "They're going to have to call your mother. After that—I really don't know." He frowned thoughtfully as they walked through the small campus to Ms. Smith's office. "You'd better sit down, Ashley. I'm going to make a few calls." He forced a smile before leaving her there alone.

He stepped outside before taking out his cell phone and dialing Will. His friend did not pick up until the fourth ring. "Dude—Will, I need your help."

"Slow down, Henry—what is it?"

"Go to my lab—it's really urgent, Will—before Magnus gets called to the school."

"Whoa—what happened?"

"Ashley—she attacked a student. She tried getting away, but wasn't able to, and she defended herself. Thing is—I think that she was caught on camera."

"So you want me to delete all evidence of this?" Will guessed.

"Yeah—but could you put it on a flash drive. I want you to figure out what happened. We're going to have to clean this up."

"And the kid?"

"Badly hurt, but it looked like he'll make it. I'm more concerned about the parents, Will."

"What about Ashley?"

"She's pretty shaken up."

"Alright—" He sounded distracted on the other end. "I'm in your lab. What do I do?"

"I'm sending you the security code to the cameras here—and let me tell you, this school uses really ancient technology."

"Focus, Henry—time's limited."

"Right—here you go. I need to get to work on my end." He hung up before sending Will the security code.

Will waited for the codes to be sent to his phone. He stood at the desk as he worked, feeling that sitting would take away from his attention. When he found the security footage, a feat that took him only a few moments, a sickening knot twisted at his stomach as he watched Ashley being pushed down and brought back to her feet by her hair, and then she retaliated by using her vampiric and teleportation powers. The other kids surrounding the fight ran away. Then the fight was broken up. Will quickly deleted the footage that revealed what Ashley really was. He saved it on his personal thumb drive.

"Will, what are you doing in here?"

He jumped at the sound of Helen's voice. "Oh—uh—Henry wanted me to do something for him." He forced a smile.

"William, don't lie to me."

"It's not important. Henry just forgot to save some files he was working on before going to the school this morning." He dodged out to the way and hurried down the hall, just as Helen's cell rang.

"Magnus."

"Ms. Magnus, this is Ms. Smith from your daughter's school. I need to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

"What's wrong?" Helen demanded quickly.

"I think that it's best that you come to my office." She hung up.

Helen stared at her phone for a few moments, stunned that someone had actually hung up on her. She shoved her phone back in her pocket before marching to the garage and into her black Hyundai. She peeled out of the garage and onto the street, speeding to Ashley's school. She dialed for Henry.

"Doc—look, I'm kinda busy."

"It can wait, Henry," she snapped. "I just got a call from Ms. Smith. What's going on?"

"Uh—everything's taken care of. No clean up job necessary." He laughed nervously.

"Henry Foss!"

"Look—a kid attacked Ashley on the playground at her lunch recess. She tried to get away, but couldn't—then she defended herself. Ms. Smith is pissed about it because I guess the kid's family is very powerful and has the ability to sue the school for this."

"Did they catch it on camera?"

"It's all taken care of."

Helen thought back to Will being in Henry's office and seeming uncomfortable when she questioned him. She hung up and accelerated until she peeled into the school's parking lot. She swerved into an empty parking space before marching across the campus to the main office.

A short blonde woman greeted her. When her eyes met the woman's, the shorter woman seemed to puff out her chest threateningly. "Are you Ms. Magnus?"

"I am," replied Helen curtly. Her lips drew to a thin line as she assessed the woman before her. "What is this about?"

"Your daughter—does she misbehave at home?" asked Ms. Smith.

"Never." Helen glared at Ms. Smith furiously. "What has she done to require you to call me away from my work, Ms. Smith?"

"Step in my office." She stepped aside and waited for Helen to step inside.

Helen's eyes fell on Ashley. The weight on her chest lifted slightly when she saw that her daughter had not been physically harmed, though Ashley had tears streaming freely from her puffy red eyes. She rounded on Ms. Smith. "I demand to know what's going on?"

"Your daughter attacked a student today, Ms. Magnus," snapped Ms. Smith. "He's being taken by ambulance to the hospital right now. He's likely going to need stitches, and his parents have already threatened to sue. As this _girl_ is your responsibility, the charges will default to you."

"This school has insurance, I presume."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"This school's insurance should be sufficient to handle such situations. And I assume that Ashley was defending herself; something that I fully expect her to do should she be attacked, another student or no."

"Assuming anything can be dangerous, Ms. Magnus. Your daughter will be expelled if she so much as steps over the line with her toe one more time. Now, get _out of my office_."

"Ashley, we're going home." She led her daughter out of the school, anger radiating from her in waves as she marched away from the office.


	18. Grounded

Chapter 18:

A/N: This is the end of Ashley as a young child, but by far not the end of Second Chances. Thank you so much to those of you who have chosen to grace me with your wonderful reviews. And to the people who make Sanctuary happen. Once a week, I can escape reality for an hour and immerse myself in the world of Sanctuary. I am sorry that my updates have been so slow. College got in the way, but I am free to write until the end of September, which will bring about another hiatus from fan fiction. Without further delay, here is the next chapter. The purpose of the last one was to set this one up.

"What really happened, Ashley?" Helen asked when she finally regained a grasp on her anger enough to not frighten her daughter.

"I'm really sorry, Mommy—I tried to walk away from them, but when Cain shoved me to the ground, I couldn't stop it!" Ashley blurted out quickly.

"Ashley, you could have killed him!" yelled Helen in her frustration. She pulled into the garage. "You're grounded—now, go to your room." She did not look up as Ashley got out of the car and slam the door.

She ran through the Sanctuary, not even stopping when she saw her father, Will, Kate, or Big Guy. She ran straight to her room and slammed the door before running to her bed. She threw herself down and cried into her pillows.

"What was that all about?" John asked as Helen came into the Sanctuary. His eyes were full of worry as he stared at her defeated form.

"Ashley had some trouble at school." Helen sighed heavily. "She's grounded until further notice."

"What happened?" asked John darkly, following Helen through the halls. He struggled to keep up with her.

She sighed heavily as she opened the door to her private office. She sat down before looking up at John. "She used her powers on a boy."

"And?"

"He was brought to the hospital by ambulance," replied Helen curtly. "Henry had the video evidence wiped."

"Did anyone see the incident?"

"Not that I know of."

"Do you know the details?" He sat in the armchair across from her and leaned back.

"No—I will wait for Henry to get back to get a full report."

"I will go have a word with Ashley then." He stood, watched Helen work on her computer for a moment, and left his ex-fiancé to her work. As he walked through the halls of the Sanctuary, his thoughts were surrounding Ashley and her abnormalities. His blood boiled as he thought about what the Cabal had done to her, had turned her into. Despite having taken care of Danna Whitcomb, he still felt that his business with the organization was incomplete.

_He sat at the café just outside of Paris, where he had tracked her down, with a little help from Nikola. As he read the newspaper, in French, he bided his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself to make Danna pay for her crimes against his daughter and ex. _

_ He watched as she sighed heavily and got up to leave. When he was certain that she would not notice him, he put his paper down with a satisfied smirk on his face. He grabbed his sword cane, the same one he had used on the whores in the alleys of Scotland Yard so many years ago, and followed after her at a distance. He followed her into a backstreet, where it was doubtful that no one would see or hear them, but he had to be more cautious than that. Forensics had after all gotten better since the late 19__th__ Century. _

_ He stalked her until he was certain he had her before grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her up against the wall of the nearest brick building._

_ "Bonjur, Mademoiselle Whitcomb." He stared at her fiercely, waiting for her to scream._

_ She stared back at him, eyes wide with fear. She tried shrinking away from him, but his firm grip held her in place. _

_ He grinned before teleporting them away. They rematerialized in a dark room that appeared to have been abandoned for many years. The door was sealed, making the air taste stale. _

_ "Where—where have you taken me, you monster?" Danna demanded as she scurried away from him._

_ "Somewhere that no one will find you, Whitcomb." His voice took on a harsher tone. He had allowed the true monster to surface, and it used his anger as a source for its power. He took the blade out from his cane and knelt next to Danna. "Tell me, Danna, how did it feel to take my daughter away and use her against Helen and I?" _

_ "You got what you deserved!"_

_ He slashed his blade through the air, cutting into Danna's cheek. Blood now smeared her face. "Wrong answer." He stood and circled around her. "Why did you do it?"_

_ "To ensure the survival of the human race."_

_ He grabbed her by the front of her jacket and slammed her against the nearest wall hard enough to make her eyes water. "YOU DON'T THINK THAT HELEN WAS DOING THE SAME THING WITH HER SANCTUARY?" His face was warped with rage. _

_ "You came here to kill me, didn't you? To make me pay for what I did to your Sanctuaries—to your precious Ashley?"_

_ John threw her across the room. She landed with a crack, and she could no longer stand on her own. "I am going to break you for what you have done."_

_ "You're no better than me," retorted Danna, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "You killed—what was it, eight whores in Scotland Yard? I'm sure those whores had family who cared about them."_

_ He stepped on her hand and put his weight into it until she cried out. "No one can here you down here, Danna. You're mine until I see fit to end our little fun here." He looked down on her with disgust. "You see, this bunker we're in was used during WWII. I spent many hours down here at one point, torturing James Watson. You remember him, don't you? I count you responsible for his death too." He slowly cut across her collarbone. "Or perhaps I should hand you over to Helen. Lets see what happens when you get in the middle of a mother bear and her cub, and then kill the cub."_

_ "Helen Magnus doesn't have what it takes to kill," spat Danna._

_ "I would not sound so confident about that." John knelt over her and sliced down her clothes before ripping them apart._

_ His work was slow, and every cut he made brought him one step closer to feeling the satisfaction of killing the woman who tore Ashley away from Helen and him. He relished in Danna's last breath. When his work was complete, he was covered in her blood. He stayed with the body for a few hours before leaving the bunker and going to find one of his many safe houses where he could dispose of the bloodstained clothes and put fresh, clean ones on._

"Whoa—!" Will dodged out of the way after nearly bumping into John. He looked up when John seemed to have snapped out of his thoughts. "Hey—you feelin' ok, Druitt?"

"I am fine, Zimmerman." John forced a smile before continuing down the halls to Ashley's room.

He stopped at the door when he heard the sobs coming from the room. He stood there, blinking for several minutes before knocking. "Ashley?"

"Go away!" she shouted.

He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "Ashley, open this door!"

"Really nice tactic, Johnny."

He cringed when he heard the voice. He looked up to find Tesla standing against the wall, looking at his extended claws. "Nikola—where did you slither off to for the past few months?"

"Unlike you, I come and go as I please. I got a call from Heinrich about some issues he needs help with. And if I were you, I would not go and anger your daughter any further." He stalked away.

John felt his jaw clench as he watched him leave. He forced his muscles to relax before teleporting. Seconds later, he rematerialized into Ashley's room. His eyes widened as he felt a burning sensation across his chest. He looked down to see that Ashley had appeared in front of him, but when he looked at her, he did not see the little girl; he saw the thing that the Cabal had turned her into. "Ashley," he grunted, falling back to the wall.

Her cold eyes looked up at him as she prepared to strike again. When her eyes met his, she hesitated. Her eyes reverted back to their natural blue. She cried out in pain, as though she was fighting for control. She threw herself to the far wall, grabbing her wrist with her clawed hand. She teleported and rematerialized next to John. She slashed at him three more times: along his collarbone, across his left side, and again down his right shoulder.

The burning made him hiss. He looked up at his daughter, unsure of why he did not simply teleport out of the room, knowing that if he did not, she would likely kill him. "Ashley—I—I'm so sorry," he chocked out in a near sob.

"Daddy? Oh no, what have I done? MOM! WILL! KATE! SOMEONE HELP!" She threw herself to the floor next to John, her eyes completely back to normal, and her fangs and claws retracted.

It was a few minutes before she heard hurried footsteps rushing toward her room. She unlocked the door in a hurry, and was nearly knocked over as her mother rushed in to kneel next to John.

"Dear God, John—what happened?" She searched his pale face; glad to find that he was still conscious.

"Helen—ah, sweet Helen." He reached up to caress her face.

"Let me get you to the infirmary to patch you up." Her eyes softened as she felt his soft, gentle hand brush across her cheek. She gently helped him to his feet and supported his weight as she led him down the hall.

Ashley stood there, watching the exchange with a stony expression. Her mind was numb as she went over what just happened in her head. Her body shook as her monstrosities settled in. When she snapped out of her dark thoughts, her parents were gone, but the bloodstains were still on her wall. She ran out to the hall, and found that they had not gone far.

"Mom!"

Helen stopped and looked back at her daughter. Her eyes widened when she noticed how frightened Ashley looked.

"I'm sorry—I really didn't mean to do it." She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Your father is going to be fine. I just need to stitch him up, and he'll be back to normal in no time. Wait in your room until I'm done, Ashley." She watched as Ashley retreated back into her bedroom before continuing to lead John to the elevator.

"Magnus—what happened?" Will rushed to John's other side, dropping the clipboard in his hand.

"We had another incident." Helen swallowed the bile as she said the words. "Could you help me get him to the infirmary?—Then I want you to work your magic on Ashley."

He frowned as he noted each of the gashes on John's body. He also took note to John's paleness. He nodded as he helped her get John into the elevator.

They took the elevator down into the infirmary. Will helped Helen get John into the nearest bed. "Are you sure you'll be ok?" he asked.

"Will—all I'm doing is simple stitches." Helen sounded exasperated. First dealing with Ashley's school's principal, and then John. The weariness was starting to show. She heard him leave, and sighed her relief at having silence once more.

She worked fast to do a quick wash of her hands and put gloves on. She reached into the drawer for sutures, gauze, and antibiotic cream. "John—I know you're awake," she said impatiently as she neared him.

He opened his eyes. "It wasn't her fault, Helen—she had her door locked, and I teleported inside. I think that the Cabal have programmed her to protect herself against any possible threat."

"Really—you've only now figured that out," she chided as she removed his shirt. Her breath hitched as she saw his bare chest and the toned muscles. She had seen it many times before, but this time something seemed to awaken from deep within her that had been asleep since the 1880s. She shook away her impure thoughts before setting to work to clean the cuts.

"I mean to say that if she ever feels threatened, and we're not there—who knows what sort of chaos can come from it. The Cabal designed her to make normal humans feel threatened by abnormals."

Helen frowned as she began stitching the first wound, the one on his right shoulder. She gave him a reproachful look as he hissed. "I cannot keep her locked up in the Sanctuary forever, John."

"No—of course not." He clicked his tongue. "Perhaps someone here at the Sanctuary is capable of creating a device to monitor her adrenaline levels? I want to see if that has any correlation. And if it does, perhaps you should medicate her."

She sighed heavily as she tied off the first set of stitches. "I will put Henry on it when he returns from the school."

She worked silently for the rest of the time. When she was done, her hands did not leave John's chest. She trailed her latex covered fingers over the skin lightly, smirking when he groaned.

"Helen—don't." He looked up at her, his eyes clouded with lust.

"And why not?" she whispered in his ear before capturing his mouth in a sudden, but heated kiss. Her lips sparked to life in a way they hadn't since her early days as a doctor, when John had to steal a kiss from her here and there while they strolled the streets of London.

_"When this is over, we shall begin our dance anew_," he had once told her.

"I do not want you to regret it," he said when she had finally pulled away. He looked deep into her eyes, and saw a longing there that was stronger than he had ever seen it.

"Montagu—John—Druitt," she said between light kisses, "I am one hundred and fifty-eight years old. I know what I am doing." She searched his face.

He sat up, nipping at her bottom lip as he repositioned her so that she straddled him, and he held her against the nearest wall. He grinned when her arms and legs wrapped around his neck and waist tightly. His hands slowly went to work to unbutton her blouse. "I preferred the dresses of Victorian times," he growled as he bit down on her neck.

She gasped when he found the spot behind her left ear. "John—!"

He smirked against her skin and pulled her white bra down, so that her breasts popped out. He bent down to take the right nipple in his mouth while he toyed with the other one with his hand. He nipped and sucked alternatively, making her moan and gasp. He thrust his hips forward, making her feel his strained pants.

The door opened. "Magnus, Henry is back." Kate stopped in the doorway, staring wide-eyed at Helen and John. Her face went red before she ran out.

"Bloody Hell!" growled Helen.

"You should have locked the door." John bit down on her nipple, hard, before pulling away. "You probably should go." He kissed her again on the lips as she hurried to get her clothes straightened out.

"They're going to lock me up like the abnormals downstairs, aren't they?" Ashley sobbed, sitting on her bed with her face hidden by her hands.

Will stood against the wall. He ran a hand through his curly hair. "No, Ashley, no one's going to lock you away." Even as he said the words, he did not believe them.

"But I attacked a kid at school, Will!" She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes.

"I saw the video footage—you were just defending yourself, Ashley," replied Will softly. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to feel safe, Ashley." He recalled the conversation he had with Alexi two years ago. "I promise you, I will do whatever I can to help you control this more." His eyes took on a fierce flame. He almost felt sorry for anyone in the future who would try to harm Ashley because not only would they have to deal with the dangerous abnormal in front of him, but everyone at the Sanctuary who was willing to protect her.

Helen looked up when she entered her office. Henry and Tesla were already waiting for her. She walked to her desk briskly; her cheeks still red as she thought back to her heated moment with John.

"You wanted to see us, Doc?" Henry asked.

"Yes. I want the both of you to create a device to measure adrenaline levels. I want it to send readings to every computer within the Sanctuary."

"Is this for Ashley?"

Helen nodded solemnly. "I want to see if her vampiric nature is related to adrenaline levels in her body. If so—Nikola, I want you to come up with a drug to control it. That way, Ashley will need to _want_ to become what she is." She looked up at her friend. "Now, I am sure that you both have a lot of work ahead of you." She took a folder of paperwork and flipped through it. It was a request to handle a gnome infestation in Seattle.

When she looked up again, Tesla was still there, staring at her intently. Her eyebrows rose. "Don't you have work to do, Nikola?" she asked impatiently.

"Johnny boy left a hickey on your neck—Helen, are you having relations with Jack the Ripper again? He's a _monster_, Helen!" He looked repulsed as he thought about what they had done.

"Nikola, I am a grown woman, fully capable of making my own choices. I believe that I have set a task for you to get done. Go and do it before I have my butler remove you from my office." She glared up at him until he left.

After several minutes of sitting there, she sunk into her chair, eyes closed and body heavy. She needed more help with the Sanctuary; she knew that more than ever now. The first time she had raised Ashley; it had not been this chaotic. As she thought about her daughter, her eyes snapped open. She had grounded Ashley, and when John had gone to speak with their daughter, she had accidentally attacked him. Helen could not comprehend how afraid the young girl was now. She got up and hurried to Ashley's room.

She found her daughter sitting on her bed, still crying; and Will was standing against the wall, doing his best to comfort Ashley with words. She nodded to Will before making her way down to the kitchen.

She cooked up a pot of Mac & Cheese, remembering how much Ashley had liked it before. Tears suddenly flowed freely down her cheeks. With all that had happened since Ashley's funeral, she had not had proper time to mourn the daughter she had lost. She wiped away her tears when the Mac & Cheese was finished. She scooped it into a giant bowl, and carried it up to Ashley's room.

Ashley was still crying, and Will was sitting on the bed next to her. He was holding her and rubbing small circles on her back. He looked up at Helen, and immediately his face went red.

"Ashley, I have to get back to my work—I'll see you in the morning." He planted a gentle kiss on her golden hair before prying himself away. He nodded to Helen as he passed her.

Helen walked forward, slowly and carefully. She sat on the bed and frowned when Ashley did not look up at her. "Ashley—I made you some Mac & Cheese." She kept her voice soft.

Ashley looked up with hurt eyes. It tore at Helen to see her daughter this way. She took the Mac & Cheese and began eating it.

"Ashley—I want to apologize for my reaction in the car. I should not have yelled at you for something you can't control."

"Does this mean I'm not grounded anymore?" squeaked Ashley.

"No, you're still grounded—but that only means no TV for a week, no video games for a week, and no visiting Jane for a week. What you did to that child was still wrong, even though you were trying to defend yourself. You need to exercise extreme control. As it is, I will probably have to pay for his medical expenses—and if the doctors are smart enough to figure out that the wounds you left on him were not from normal fingernails, there will be some serious questions to answer." She pulled Ashley closer to her and held her daughter there. "I love you, Ashley—don't you ever forget that."

"I know, Mom. I love you, too." She closed her eyes as she leaned against her mother.

A/N: Yes, this is the end of really young Ashley. This story has been split into three different sections. Within the next couple weeks, there will be a timeline of events posted on my profile between this chapter and the next one. Keep checking.


	19. Three Years Later

A few years passed since Helen had signed Ashley up for school, in which Ashley had grown to be a terrorizing eleven-year-old. She was now in the fifth grade. Over the years, she had learned to control her abnormalities.

Warm, early spring air wafted through the Sanctuary. Ashley sat at her computer, which Henry had built for her as a birthday present, surfing the Internet. She yawned when she could not find anything to hold her attention.

"Bored?" came Will's voice. She turned to find him standing in the doorway to her room, and she frowned at him. "Your door was open," he explained when he noted her frown.

"There's nothing on the Internet," Ashley complained with an exasperated sigh.

"It's a Saturday afternoon—and a nice day out. Why don't you call up Jane and go to the park with her?" He dug his hands into his pockets.

"She's on one of the orphanage retreats," answered Ashley with another sigh. She looked up at Will. "I think they were going to our side of the Puget Sound."

"Oh—well, that's a shame. And your parents and Kate are out on a pickup job in the Olympic Mountains. And Big Guy and Henry are on another mission of _utmost importance_ in San Diego." He ran a hand through his hair. "Is there a movie out that you want to see?"

"There's that one about the rogue M6 agent who goes on the run—I think it's still in theaters. Why?"

"You're obviously bored. I don't have any patients." He shrugged. "Figured I could treat you to a movie."

She smiled brightly and grabbed her purse that was sitting on her desk. In a flash, she was gone. "Down here!" she called from the bottom of the stairwell.

Will let out a heavy sigh, uncertain of what he was getting himself into. He walked slowly down the hall and to the stairs. Seeing Ashley waiting for him with a purse over her shoulder was something that he would never get used to. Before the Cabal mess, she had told him that she refused to carry purses unless it was part of a job she was on, which did not happen often because Helen handled the social jobs. He joined her in the foyer. "Alright—which car do you want to ride in?"

"The motorcycle!"

He scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not?" She narrowed her blue eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well—your parents would kill me, if they found out."

"I've road loads of times with Mom," Ashley argued.

"That's different," countered Will sternly. "Look—we'll ride in one of the convertibles."

"Those all belong to Kate."

"I can deal with Kate being mad at me a lot better than your parents being angry with me."

"Your funeral." Ashley shrugged, and they walked together to the garage.

Will grabbed the keys to the 1969 red Ford Mustang Convertible, unlocked it, and got in. He waited for Ashley to get buckled in before revving up the engine, making her grin.

He drove as carefully as he could, doing his best to avoid the cops as he went, and muttered something about needing to have a talk with Kate about her high speed chases.

The movie went relatively well. Will was thankful that the theater was dark, especially when Ashley's fangs began to grow. He felt waves of pity whenever this happened, and his breath hitched. He tensed up, ready to have to restrain Ashley should she start losing control. He took her to a burger joint afterwards before driving them both home.

Ashley went up to her room after thanking him. She collapsed on her bed, staring at the ceiling for a long while before drifting off to sleep.

"So—you stole my car, did you?" Kate said from the shadows, her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot.

"I _didn't_ steal it, Kate," Will groaned. "And I thought you weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow."

"Magnus, Druitt, and I were on a _pickup_ job, Will. And in case you haven't forgotten, having Druitt around means that we don't have to spend hours in a car."

"Yeah—I've noticed. By the way, could you not go on high speed chases while Magnus is away? It makes driving a real pain."

"Next time, don't use _my_ car."

"Or you could stop the high speed chases with the cops." With that said, he walked away.

The following morning, he was woken by the sound of his cell phone ringing. He rolled over, and groaning, answered it. "This is Zimmerman." He stifled a yawn as he rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Will, could you come to my office?" Helen asked in a calm voice.

"Sure thing—be there in a few." He blinked when she hung up. Was she upset that he had taken Ashley to the movies? Did she feel the movie was inappropriate for her eleven-year-old daughter? These thoughts and others swam in his head as he hurried to get dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, hoping that this wasn't a formal meeting. He walked down the hall on autopilot, nearly bumping into Kate on his way.

They exchanged a short greeting before going their separate ways; Will to Helen's office, and Kate to whatever it was Kate Freelander went in the mornings. He knocked, and waited for Helen to tell him to come in. He found her sitting at her desk, filling out a stack of paperwork.

"You wanted to see me, Magnus?" He dug his hands in his pockets, and waited for her to explain the purpose of this private meeting.

"Are you familiar with the Tunguska Event?" Helen asked, looking up at him and setting her paperwork aside.

"Can't say that I am," answered Will as he took a seat and leaned forward. "Why? What does it have to do with us?"

"Well—it was a blast that happened near Tunguska in 1908—and I just got word that there is a group of abnormals, similar to Ashley in that they possess multiple anomolies."

"Wait—what sort of blast?" Will asked, deciding to ignore the other details—at least for now.

"It's speculated that it was a meteor blast."

"But you don't think it was." It was a statement, and Will was not sure if he liked where this was all going.

Helen smiled as she shook her head. "No—I had John visit an old Cabal facility that he was able to pinpoint, and their files were corrupted, but Henry found small caches of data suggesting that the Cabal was responsible for the event."

"And you want me to go and check it out." He sighed heavily.

"Yes, but I want you to keep to Moscow until I am able to send John to aid you." Her voice was very serious and she looked him in the eye.

"Why can't you send him with me now?" Will dared to ask.

"He is away on some matters dealing with the Mumbai Sanctuary. Can I trust you on this, Will?"

"Yeah—when do I leave for _Mother Russia_?" He did his best to imitate a Russian accent.

"In two hours. I will have my private jet prepped for you. Be sure you're on time—I don't want an angry phone call from Jeremy."

"Psht! Jeremy and I are cool." He grinned as he walked out of her office.

"I have the file sent to your e-mail!" Helen yelled before he was out of earshot.

Ashley went to school as she always did that Monday morning, having been dropped off by her mother. The Minotaur that Kate and the Big Guy had brought back from Greece due to a contamination that had gotten loose in the Athens Sanctuary had woke her early that morning. It had been 4:13 that morning that the commotion had woken her, and just like any other time, her claws and fangs were fully extended. It had taken her mother two hours before she was able to come into Ashley's room to check that everything was alright. Her father and the others had been busy helping with the situation.

As she walked through the playground, she did her best to ignore the other children, who were whispering about "that creepy house" she lived in. Her expression brightened when she spotted Jane running at her from the swing set.

"Ashley!"

"Hi, Jane," Ashley replied brightly. "How was your weekend?"

Jane shrugged. "It was alright, I suppose. What about you?"

"Oh, I went to go see that movie about the rogue M6 agent."

"Your mom let you see that?"

"She was away on a business trip."

"Who took you then? Your dad?"

"Will took me."

"Hey, do you think I could come over to your place after school?" Jane asked before the bell rang, signaling all students to go to his or her classrooms.

"I'll talk to you at lunch, ok?" replied Ashley, biting her bottom lip. She walked, dragging her feet, to Mr. Albright's class. She sat in the class, at the back, next to Cain Wright.

Every day, as she sat next to the boy, she remembered her first day of school, and the day she attacked him out on the playground. After the incident, she had not seen him until the first day of fifth grade, and much to her dismay, she was forced to sit next to him. She took the punishment silently, while he complained ever so loudly to Mr. Albright, and while Mr. Albright was Darren Albright's father, he had ignored Cain's insistent requests at being moved.

Ashley felt on edge sitting next to him, but she did not let it show. She paid attention to the Math lesson that Mr. Albright was giving on the whiteboard, but when a note passed her way, she was drawn into looking at it. It was addressed to her. She glanced around, and the only anomaly she noticed was that Cain was very pointedly not looking at her. She shook that thought out of her head. Cain never looked twice at her. She blinked at that new thought that had formed in her mind. Since when did she care if Cain looked at her at all? He had nearly had her kicked out of school after her first day.

She opened the note. It read: "Meet me at the swing set ten minutes after the start of lunch recess". The handwriting was sloppy and very masculine.

During lunch, she snuck over to sit next to Jane. They always sat alone together during lunch, even when they did not have the same class.

"Ashley, are you ok?" Jane asked in a soft voice, her eyes full of concern.

"Yeah—but this pizza tastes like crap," replied Ashley, making a face.

"It's still better than what they give me at the orphanage."

"You should come over for dinner sometime. My mom's cooking is really good."

"I asked you if I could come over this morning, remember?"

"Yeah—I remember. But I don't think that tonight is the best night. There was an incident with one of mom's patients, and no one has gotten any sleep."

"Is that why Henry was so grouchy this morning during computers?"

"Probably—but he's always grouchy these days."

"I think he needs a girlfriend."

Milk sprayed out of Ashley's nose, and all over Jane. "_What_?" she exclaimed before she realized what had happened. "Oh crap; I'm so sorry, Jane!" She did her best to help Jane clean up the mess as a couple of the recess aids walked over.

"What happened?" demanded a large woman, glowering down at the two girls.

"Nothing—Jane said something that I wasn't expecting is all." Ashley could not help but to glare up at the woman. She felt her fangs growing in her mouth, and her heart began pounding against her chest. She looked down at the wrist monitor she was still forced to wear 24/7. It was beeping angrily at her. "I gotta go!" She hurried away from the table and into the nearest girls' bathroom.

She gripped onto the sink, and felt her claws extending. She prayed, tears streaming down her face that no one would come in. Much to her dismay, the door opened. She squeezed her eyes shut and yelled in a hoarse voice: "Get out!"

"Ashley?" It was Jane.

Her mind raced. The last thing she wanted was for her best friend to know that she was different. Her heart raced faster than it ever had before, and she found it more difficult to keep herself at bay.

"Jane, get out!" Henry had come in, and was shoving Jane out of the bathroom. "Ashley, you've got to calm down!" His voice cracked slightly.

"Get out!" Ashley turned around to face him. Her vision was hazy, but she could still see him standing there.

"Ashley—it's alright. No one is going to hurt you." He backed against the door as she took a step forward. "Ashley, if you don't calm down, your mother is going to be pissed at both of us."

She fell to one knee. Her vision was back, but she was panting with the effort to calm herself down. Her fangs and claws slowly retracted until she was back to normal. "I hate this, Henry! Why can't I be just like everyone else?" she sobbed.

"Hey—it isn't all bad. Your abilities will have their uses, when you're older."

"Easy for you to say!" she snapped, glaring at him. "After recess, I'm going home."

"If you keep ditching school, I'm going to have to modify the V Rein to have a built in EM field," Henry told her.

"I can't risk hurting anyone. And could you bring Jane home? She has the right to know what just happened."

"Are you sure that's safe?"

"I'll have mom put me in a secure room. And I'm sure mom will tranquilize me, if needed." She got back to her feet, and exited the bathroom. She shoved past the group of students who had gathered around the door.

"What was that?" Jane grabbed her roughly by the shoulder.

"I'll explain tonight," mumbled Ashley. "Look—I'm sorry, but I don't want you around me right now." She walked at a brisk pace out to the playground, and stopped by the swing set to wait for whoever had written the note in class.

She glowered a few minutes later when she saw Cain and his buddies walking toward her, but it was Cain alone who approached her. "Had to bring your bodyguards with you?" she sneered.

"I kinda hoped to talk to you—alone. They insisted on following me." He was turning red around his cheeks and neck. "You're—um—you're pretty good at soccer."

"Were you the one who wrote that note?"

"So what if I was?" he grunted, turning away.

"Why? I thought you were out to make my life miserable ever since that day on the playground." She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"I—um—I never realized you are such a nice person, for a girl." He scratched the back of his shaggy hair.

"Is this some kind of joke to you, Cain?" Ashley demanded hysterically. She had to remind herself to remain calm though, but her claws had extended a couple centimeters.

"Look—I've liked you for a while now—so can we just get on with it?"

"_What_?" She stared at him, wide eyed, with her jaw hanging open as his words floated around in her head. Was she really hearing this? For the last three years, Cain had done nothing but make her hurt every time she turned around, and now he was confessing that he _liked_ her. She could not believe what she was hearing.

"I like you, ok?" He looked away from her; his face beat red from embarrassment. "So—um—would you, you know, be my girlfriend?"

"This isn't a joke?"

"For the last time: no!"

"Alright—deal." They both jumped when the bell rang. She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok! I have to go for a doctor's appointment," she lied quickly. She ran for the nearest bathroom, where she teleported to outside the Sanctuary.

"Mom, I'm home!" she called when she walked inside. She blinked when the Big Guy walked up to her. "Big Guy, where's my mom?"

"Went to town—grocery shopping," Big Guy grunted. "What are you doing home? Shouldn't you be at school?"

Ashley frowned and blushed a deep shade of red. "I had another incident, ok."

He grunted. "You didn't get in trouble, did you?"

"No—I managed to stop myself before things got out of hand. Henry's bringing Jane over. I'll be in my room. Send my mom up when she gets home, ok?" With that, she teleported herself into her bedroom, glad that at least within the walls of the Sanctuary, she was not a freak of nature. She collapsed on her bed, where she stayed until she heard the distinguished sound of high heels down the hall. She sat up in time to see her mother standing in the doorway.

"What happened? Are you sick?" Helen's voice was full of worry.

"No—not really." Ashley frowned, knowing that she would not be able to hide the truth forever. "I—I almost—I almost attacked Jane—at lunch—" She cringed, already sensing her mother's disapproval and worry. "But she's ok!" she amended quickly. "Henry was able to get her out before she even realized what was going on."

"What happened?" Helen's voice was unreadable; she had gone into "Doctor Magnus" mode, as Kate had come to calling it.

"Well—you see, we were at lunch. She had said something that made me squirt milk out my nose. Then one of the lunch ladies came over and was yelling at me. I started feeling my fangs and claws grow, so I ran to the bathroom, but Jane came to check up on me. Henry got her out though, until I was able to calm down." She looked away; her eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm not angry at you, Ashley." Helen stepped into the room, and sat next to her daughter. "What you did was very admirable." She wrapped an arm around Ashley, and rubbed the young girl's shoulders.

"But I could have hurt my best friend!" cried Ashley.

"But you didn't. Ashley—you haven't attacked anyone in two years—and they deserved it."

"Mom!" Ashley gasped in disbelief.

"No one is allowed to hurt my little girl. Those people should be glad it was you and not me."

They were silent for a few moments, each enjoying the other's company, which did not get to happen very often with Ashley spending all day at school, and Helen with her work. They both jumped when Helen's cell phone went off. She answered it.

"Magnus? It's Will."

"Will—how's Moscow?"

"Quiet—no one's able to tell me a thing about Tunguska. They seem a little nervous about it actually."

"Understood."

"What do you want me to do now?"

"Come home. I did some readings, and there have been fluxes of radiation coming from that area. I have Russian officials standing by for evacuation, should it become necessary."

"The files said that Tunguska was clear of radiation." There was a hint of panic coming from Will's voice.

"This is new."

"Uh—could you send Druitt to pick me up?"

"I am unable to reach him now—I'm sorry, Will, but you're on your own."

"Yeah—Jeremy left me high and dry."

"I will transfer funds into your account to get you home, Will."

"Yeah—thanks Magnus."

Helen almost did not like the sarcastic tone his voice was taking, but she ignored it. She felt bad for putting him into that situation, but she felt confident that she could get him out of Moscow before the radiation spread. "Safe travels, William." She hung up, sighing.

"What's wrong, mom?"

"Oh, just a miscalculation on my part." She tried to sound unconcerned in front of Ashley. She even put on a small smile.

Ashley sighed as she lay across Helen's lap, closing her eyes contentedly as her mother ran her fingers through her hair. "Mom?"

"Yes, Ashley?" Helen continued as she looked down at her daughter, not for the first time surprised at how quickly children seemed to grow up.

"I told Henry to bring Jane over after school—and I—I want to show her what I really am. And I—I want you to be there—just in case I lose control like I almost did today."

"I won't let any harm come to you or your friend," murmured Helen. "But you do realize that this could bring about the end of your friendship with Jane, if she's not ready to accept our way of life."

"I'm prepared for that," Ashley whimpered.

"Alright—school should be nearly over now." Right on cue, they heard the front door opening and Henry's voice filtered up to the bedroom. "Should I put you in the cell where we usually keep new arrivals?" She did not like the idea of locking her daughter up like an animal, but she knew that if she did not, the results could be catastrophic.

She nodded. "And could you have Henry put up an EM shield around it—just in case?"

"Of course, dear." Helen followed Ashley out of the room and to the elevator. They were silent as they went down to the main floor where the abnormals were kept, safe in their enclosures. Helen stopped at the cell where Ashley would be kept to show Jane why she sometimes acted so weird. She punched in the number key to open the door and watched helplessly as Ashley walked in. She sighed as she closed and locked the door. "I'll be back before you know it." With that, she turned on her heels and walked away.

Jane looked around, barely phased by the size of Ashley's home. She had been inside countless times over the years, and had even spent a couple Christmases with Ashley and her family. She froze when she saw Helen walk up to her.

"Jane—I'm so sorry if this has all been confusing to you." Her voice was strained as she forced the words out.

"Ashley told me that tonight wouldn't be good because you had a new patient," replied Jane quickly.

Helen forced a smile. "Yes, but there is something that Ashley wanted you to see." She turned to Henry. "Henry, could you put up an EM shield around Cell 3?"

"Right away, Doc." He hurried away, not wanting to see Jane's face when she saw the truth about the Sanctuary.

"What's an EM shield?"

"It is an electro magnetic field—it keeps out disruptors such as cell phones and the like from damaging our systems." She cringed before adding, "Follow me."


	20. Truth

Jane followed Helen at a distance. As she walked, she wondered what this could be about. Her heart pounded in her chest when Helen led her to the elevator. Over the years she had been a friend of Ashley's, she had never been allowed to use the elevator. She stepped inside only when Helen prompted her.

"Where are you taking me?" Jane asked in a small voice.

Helen frowned thoughtfully. "What has Ashley told you of this place?"

"Only that you do research here and work as a doctor," answered Jane. She blinked. "Why?"

"You will see soon enough." Helen led her out of the elevator when the doors opened. Instead of giving the normal tour of starting with the main abnormal enclosures, Helen took her directly to the cell in which Ashley was being kept.

Jane jumped back and screamed in terror when she saw Ashley on the other side of the glass. "_What's wrong with her_?" Her eyes were wide as she looked at her best friend and she continued to back away as though being anywhere near the enclosure would infect her.

"Ashley is part _sanguine vampiris_," explained Helen calmly. "This is what she looks like whenever she feels threatened or scared."

"She's a _freak_?"

"I prefer the term abnormal." Helen winced as she watched Jane's look of terror grow worse with each passing second.

"What is this place?"

"A sanctuary for all manner of beings."

"And you—are you a freak as well?"

Ashley reverted back to her regular self. "My mom's human. I'm the abnormal one. Jane—I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you for a long time now, but wasn't allowed." Tears brimmed in her eyes as she watched her best friend grow more and more afraid of her.

Jane shook her head quickly before running away. She ran as fast as she could through the Sanctuary, though she did not know where she was going.

"Ashley, could you get her before she accidently goes into the shoo?" Helen sighed wearily.

She nodded before teleporting out of the cell. She rematerialized in front of Jane. She did not look into Jane's eyes when her friend froze no more than three feet away from her. "Jane—will you at least allow me to explain?"

"You're not human!" screamed Jane.

"No—I'm not. I'm part vampire—but not the kind that sucks blood. And please, don't try to fight me. I don't want to accidentally hurt you." She looked up, tears brimming in her now amber eyes. She fought for control. "I didn't chose to be like this—but I am."

"What else can you do?"

She blinked, and her eyes went back to being blue. "I can teleport, so long as there isn't an EM field. Other than that—nothing. I'm faster and stronger than most humans." She paused before continuing, "I understand if you never want to see me again, but please, don't tell anyone about me or about what we really do here at the Sanctuary."

"Ashley—I—I thought we were friends—why did you lie to me all these years?"

"Humans hunt abnormals. We keep them secret from society to keep abnormals and humans safe."

"I—your—Ashley, I could never not be friends with you," said Jane in a shaky voice.

Ashley forced a smile. "I'm sorry I lied to you—and I didn't ever want you to find out this way, but at least it wasn't you finding out by me accidentally attacking you."

"I'm glad you told me," replied Jane. She was silent for a moment before asking, "Who else here is abnormal?"

"Well, Nikola is a vampire, Henry is a werewolf, we have a Sasquatch as a butler, my dad can teleport, we have a mermaid in the basement, and many other abnormals," Ashley said excitedly, happy to finally be able to tell someone in the outside world about her secret way of life.

A/N: Sorry this took so long, and that it is so short.


	21. Trouble Arising

A/N: Sorry for the delay, but now that my writer's block is gone, this story is back in full swing.

He paced back and forth, his hands behind his back. The muscles in his body were tight and tense. He stopped for a moment each time he reached the edge of his study.

"John?"

He jumped slightly, having not realized that Helen had walked in on him. "I really do not fancy being sent away on another one of your errands," he told her coolly.

"I just got a message from Nikola. He will be here in two weeks."

"Oh, so the old boy has finally started being more cordial in his comings and goings." John grinned, part of his predatory side showing, causing Helen to back away cautiously.

"Why were you pacing?" Helen dared to ask.

"No reason, Helen." He smiled politely, all traces of his darker side washing away. "Shouldn't you be in a video conference with the rest of your Sanctuaries?"

"Quit lying to me, John," snapped Helen impatiently. "I've known you long enough to know that something's bothering you."

He sighed heavily. "I've got work to do. Does Mr. Foss have the EM field up?"

"Yes, and it will remain that way until you tell me what's going on. Have you taken your medication today?"

"This morning with breakfast. Now, if you wouldn't mind—" He stepped passed her, putting on his black leather trench coat as he went. The moment he got outside, he teleported.

"Hey, Ashley?"

Jane and Ashley were to be found lying in the grass that sunny afternoon, staring up at the blue sky and the few white, fluffy clouds that passed overhead. The other children were a ways off, playing and laughing, for the weather had been sour as of late, and they were rejoicing in the return of the sun that the Pacific Northwest so dearly missed.

"Yeah?"

"I—well—I don't want you to get upset," Jane muttered quickly, a light shade of pink passing over her cheeks.

"Just spit it out already!" Ashley rolled over onto her stomach so that she could look at her friend.

"Do you—are you like Dracula?"

She blinked repetitiously. "What?"

Jane took several deep breaths before asking, "Have you ever drank human blood?"

Ashley could not be more grateful that they were alone. She could only imagine what would happen if any of her classmates heard this very private conversation. It had only been a couple days since she had let Jane find out about her abnormalities, and since then whenever the two girls were alone, she found herself answering an endless stream of questions. This one, though, she wasn't sure if she should laugh or be mortified, so she hit her palm against her forehead. "No—I've never done that, and never plan to. And no, I never crave it." As if to make her point, she gagged.

"So none of that stuff works?"

"Nope," Ashley proclaimed proudly. "I love the taste of garlic. The sun couldn't feel better." She smiled, brighter than she had in a long time.

"Oh, well look who's on his way over."

Ashley sat up quickly. Cain was walking toward them, his chest puffed out proudly and his stride filled with purpose. "Hey!" she called out to him, smiling.

"Hey." He grinned as he sat next to her. "Why aren't you on the playground?"

"A girl needs to relax sometimes."

"Ew, get a room you two!" Jane complained good-naturedly.

He rematerialized on the edge of the school playground. He scanned around until he found the blonde head of his daughter. Rage boiled in his gut when he saw her talking with a young boy. If Jane had not been with them, he would have walked over there and demanded that the boy leave his daughter alone until she was older, much older.

He watched, growing more agitated by the minute. They seemed to only be talking, but he knew from firsthand experience that talking led to other things down the road.

"Hey, you!"

He straightened his posture as a middle-aged plump of a woman strode over to him with a stern look in her dark eyes. As she drew closer, he realized that he had quite a few inches on her, and he doubted that she was nearly as good of a fight as Helen was. "Yes?" He fought the beast within him, gnawing at him to take her life. He couldn't, not with Ashley so close.

"Leave, before I call the cops on you!" she ordered snappishly.

His jaw tightened. The women of modern times were really starting to make him wish that he could revert to being Jack the Ripper again, instead of John Druitt, father of Ashley Magnus. "As you wish." He dipped into a bow before walking away. He had to get away, and fast.

As soon as he was out of eyesight he teleported to an abandoned flat. When he rematerialized, he stumbled forward, hitting the floor with a grunt. The internal fight he had endured left him drained, again making him wish that he could simply take lives whenever he wanted. The long fights were starting to wear him down, making him more agitated more easily. He almost wished that the Cabal were still around so that he could take out some of his bloodlust on them. Oh, how he missed the days when that was all he had to keep from growing mad over the loss of his daughter.

He groaned inwardly when his pocket buzzed. He was soon regretting the day he allowed Helen to buy him a cell phone. He missed the days when he could simply teleport far away from the troubles of his mundane life, and not be reached every time there was some crisis to be had.

Regretfully, he answered after having let it ring a few times. "This is John."

"John! Thank God." It was Helen, but who else would ever call him? "I need you to return to the Sanctuary. The EM field is down."

"Can't it wait, Helen?"

"John, Will hasn't checked in, and I gave him an extra twelve hours." Her voice was frantic.

"I will be there shortly. Wait for me in the foyer." He hung up, again wishing that Helen hadn't bought him the cell phone. The only thing he could hope for now was some time alone with his ex-lover. He slowly got to his feet, and thought of the Sanctuary before teleporting once again.

He landed in the foyer, just as he had intended. Helen was already rushing down the stairs to him, clipping on her holster belt as she hurried to him. He swallowed the hard lump forming in the back of his throat. Now was not the time to make passes.

"What is our destination?"

"We'll start in Moscow."

He held out his arm, and the moment her fingertips touched him, he teleported them far away from the Sanctuary.


	22. Into Tunguska

Chapter 22:

Helen breathed a sigh of relief when she rematerialized next to John. She silently cursed herself for not dressing warmer as a bunch of snow blew into her exposed face. She did have a coat on, but it was hardly appropriate for Moscow in the middle of a snowstorm. When she had checked the weather report before leaving, it had been clear.

"We need to get inside," said John, brining Helen back to the present. She nodded numbly and allowed him to lead her into a nearby bar. "Две водки пожалуйста," he said to the bartender as he lead Helen to a secluded table in the corner.

"I didn't know you knew Russian," said Helen, mildly surprised.

"I spent some time hiding in a small village not far from here," replied John with a terse smile.

"We need to find Will, John." Her voice took on a sudden sternness as she glared at her ex-fiancé.

"I know," John replied patiently before thanking the bartender for the drinks. He took a sip of his, savoring the burn that went down his throat. "But we will freeze to death if we search for him now. And what better way to gather intel than a bar, hmm? Young Mr. Zimmerman can look after himself."

Helen frowned. She knew he was right, and she hated to admit to it. She sipped on her own drink, contemplating everything she knew of the situation. She watched, warily, as John got to his feet and walked over to the bar. She stared bleakly into her drink while John talked to the bartender.

"Well," she rounded on him the moment he returned to her.

"If I understood the gentleman who runs this bar correctly, Mr. Zimmerman was seen having a drink here three nights ago."

"_If_ you understood correctly?" Helen snapped. Her nostrils flared as the corners of her mouth tightened.

"And that young Mr. Zimmerman was spotted leaving with members of the local Bratva ring." At this, he frowned.

Helen cursed loudly, earning many turned heads in her direction. "We've got to find him!"

"I know, Helen," said John grimly. He bit back the bile threatening to come up. "I will search for my old contacts to find the Bratva. Stay here."

"Don't take too long," pleaded Helen softly. Her heart was pounding, and her mind raced. She shared a meaningful glance with him, and before he could bring it up, she looked down.

He nodded wordlessly before striding out of the bar. The bitter cold air nipped at his face before he teleported.

He rematerialized in the hallway of a dark apartment building. It reeked of mold and spilt vodka. He knocked on the nearest door.

"KTo?" The voice on the other side was male, rough.

"I knock only out of courtesy, old chap," John said with false kindness. "If I really wanted to, I could enter without so much as breaking the door down."

The door opened a crack, revealing a middle-aged man with a goatee and neatly kept salt and pepper hair. His brown eyes widened with fear. "Mr. Druitt?"

"Open the door!" John snapped threateningly. He forced himself to remain calm as the door opened. He stepped into the dank flat, eying the man suspiciously as he went. The apartment was bare save for the old, torn black leather couch in the corner.

"What bring you here, Mr. Druitt?" the man asked in a shaky voice.

"You know why I am here, Ratsconvich," sneered John, turning to face him.

"I swear, I know nothing!" The man backed away as far as he could get from John.

"Wrong answer," snapped John. He was growing steadily more impatient, and the Ripper was clawing at every bit of self-control he had left. It wanted blood.

"Please! I leave Bratva long time ago!"

"One does not simply walk away from the Bratva," snarled John, edging closer to the man until they were inches apart. "Where are they?" He loomed down menacingly. He was close enough to smell the fear wafting off the man in waves. It sent shivers down his spine, but he had to focus; he had a job to complete. He grabbed the whimpering man by his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. "TELL ME!" he roared.

"They—they took your—you find your friend—Tunguska!" the man sobbed. "Please, don't kill me."

"And let you warn the Bratva? I think not, old chap." John cringed as the man's pleas were cut short by the gurgling of his jugular being cut. The body was dropped as John teleported.

"Look like your man left you to us, lady." An older man took John's vacated seat across from Helen. He stared at her cleavage, not even bothering to hide what he was doing.

She looked up at him, revolted. This was not the first time she had found herself in a situation like this, and it most certainly would not be the last. "I think it best if you leave me alone and return to your drink."

"Woman got spunk," he jeered, earning many laughs throughout the bar. "You know what happen to woman who has spunk in my bar? She get put in her place."

Helen's heart pounded. She wondered where John had gone too, and whether he would return before the situation got out of hand. She slowly reached toward her holster for her gun, trying to appear calm as she did.

The door opened. Everyone turned and cold air blasted in his or her faces. John strode into the tavern, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. He glared at the man who had dared take his vacated seat. The room went still until the man scurried away.

"We're leaving, Helen," he said in a soft, but commanding voice.

She glared up at him before getting to her feet and marching to the cold. "John!" she gasped when they were out of sight. "You're covered in blood!"

"It isn't mine," replied John with a weak smile. He sighed when she narrowed her eyes at him. "I couldn't let him live; it was too risky. But I did find young Mr. Zimmerman. He's in Tunguska."

"Dammit!" growled Helen under her breath. "I told him to stay away from there."

"You can chastise him when we find him," said John calmly. He held out his arm and teleported them away once again.

They rematerialized in an old, beaten down flat. John grinned slightly. "Ah, this is where I hid before World War 2."

Helen shot him a dark glare before taking in her surroundings. The flat appeared unused since the Second World War. Dust covered every surface. Much of the furniture was overturned, and the bed was torn to shreds. "Did you leave in a hurry when you went to join ranks with the SS?" she inquired darkly.

"I certainly wasn't going to return here after my exploits during the war," replied John evenly. "We should go out and find where young Mr. Zimmerman has gone to." He had to yank on the door hard to get it to open; it ended up on the floor as the hinges were ripped off.

The streets were dark, even though it was still daylight. The inhabitants wore little more than dirty rags. Some covered their faces with shawls. Small groups were hunched over the fires that dotted the town. Everyone was staring at Helen and John with eerie gazes. Some had eyes as black as coals, while others had pure red orbs for eyes.

"They're abnormals," muttered Helen breathlessly. She had certainly heard rumors, but she had imagined nothing like this. She could not spot a single normal human among them. "It's likely that they were genetically altered from the radiation."

"Stay close, Helen," warned John in a low whisper.

She nodded. As they walked through the town, she noticed how everyone shrank away from them. Helen's head snapped up when a young looking woman limped toward them.

The woman dragged her left leg as she approached John and Helen. It was large with claws instead of toes. She had yellow, catlike eyes. Her ears were also catlike and sat atop her dark red hair. Her hands were normal, but she had short claws instead of fingernails. When she smiled, her pointed teeth gleamed in the dim light. "Why you here?" she demanded in a low purr of a voice.

Helen blinked, surprised that the woman knew any English at all. She shook herself out of her momentarily stupor and retrieved a picture of Will from her pocket. "Have you seen him?"

The woman glanced at the picture. She quickly looked back up at Helen before taking a step back. "He with Bratva. You no find him. Too dangerous."

"We can offer you and everyone else protection from the Bratva, if that is what you need," Helen offered. She knew that these people had seen Will and that they knew where he was being held.

"No. Too dangerous. Bratva very powerful."

"We need to find our friend—before it's too late!" said Helen earnestly. "Please, help us. At least tell us where he is."

The woman observed Helen for a long moment; they made eye contact. "At other end of town. You find him in warehouse."

"Thank you," Helen said before the woman scurried away. She turned back to John, and they exchanged worried glances.


End file.
